Systems, methods and computer-readable media are provided for entering a fail safe mode for a controlled agricultural environment (CAE). The CAE includes movable receptacle supports for holding plants. In response to determining a fault condition in the CAE or in environmental conditioning equipment for the CAE, operation of the CAE or the environmental conditioning equipment is controlled to effect a change from a standard operating mode to a fail safe mode. The standard operating mode corresponds to desired environmental conditions in the CAE and the fail safe mode corresponds to non-ideal environmental conditions.

An apparatus for cultivating plants according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cabinet including an outer case forming an outer appearance, an inner case forming a cultivation space, and an insulating material disposed in a space between the inner case and the outer case; an evaporator provided inside the cultivation space to adjust a temperature of the cultivation space; a door configured to open and close the cultivation space; a cultivation shelf configured to be disposed inside the cultivation space, on which a seed package containing plants for cultivation is seated; a water supply module configured to supply water to the cultivation shelf; a machine room having a separate space formed under the cultivation space; a compressor configured to be disposed in the machine room and to be connected to the evaporator to compress the refrigerant; a heat dissipation fan configured to be disposed in the machine room and configured to dissipate heat generated by the compressor to the outside; a suction duct formed to pass through the insulating material from the upper portion of the cabinet and through which outside air flows therein; and a discharge duct formed to pass through the insulating material from a lower surface of the cabinet to discharge air inside the cultivation space to the machine room.

In a device a crop is cultivated in an at least substantially daylight-free environment, wherein the crop is exposed in an at least substantially fully conditioned cultivation space (10) to actinic artificial light from an array of artificial light sources (30) present in the cultivation space. During a cultivation cycle a power output of the artificial light sources (30) is adapted to an energy absorption of a part of the crop (50) illuminated thereby such that the crop close to each of the array of artificial light sources is subject to an at least substantially constant and at least substantially mutually equal vapour deficit.

Systems and techniques are described herein for an insulation system that utilizes a treated gas, such as water vapor, to fill an at least partially transparent cavity that is part of a structure, to provide insulating properties and/or changes in exposure to the sun for a space, proximate to the structure. In some aspects, an insulation system may include a treated gas generation system, which includes at least one of a heating element, a cooling element, or a diffusing element for treating the gas. The system may also include a gas movement system in communication with the gas generation system. The system may further include a gas conduit system in communication with the gas movement system, where the gas movement system causes the treated to be injected into the gas conduit system to change insulation and/or sun exposure characteristics of a space in proximity to the gas conduit system.

Disclosed herein are control systems and methods for managing and controlling the localized environment for growing plants in an indoor organic environment. The methods and systems provide for optimizing the climate at the localized level beneath the plant canopy to ensure the climate promotes plant growth. The control system controls the environment by monitoring, adjusting, and managing various systems within the indoor growing environment such as an air circulation system, a temperature control system, an irrigation system, a nutrition delivery system, a lighting system, and a sensor system, either individually or in various combinations.

A gardening appliance includes a liner positioned within a cabinet and defining a grow chamber, and a grow tower is positioned within the grow chamber and includes a module support frame including a plurality of vertical support members a plurality of mounting slots. A grow module defines a support body defining a plurality of apertures for receiving one or more plant pods, the grow module further including a plurality of mounting tabs configured for receipt within the plurality of mounting slots to removably mount the grow module to the module support frame.

An apparatus for controlling conditions in a plant cultivation facility includes a lighting system arranged in connection with plants present in an environmentally sealable and closable cultivation facility; a hydronic cooling arrangement for lowering or impeding the rise of temperature in the cultivation facility, the cooling arrangement comprising a cooling manifold present in connection with plants in the cultivation facility and a heat recovery arrangement for utilizing excess heat generated in the cultivation facility. The heat recovery arrangement includes a heat storing system. The heat recovery arrangement includes one or more condenser dryers/coolers for collecting water and/or heat absorbed in the indoor air of a cultivation facility and a heat pump assembly for transferring the heat, accumulated in the heat storing system by way of the cooling arrangement's circulation water and/or the condenser dryer's/cooler's circulation water, into an independent secondary circuit.

A system, method and apparatus for creating laminar air flow inside an indoor growing environment is described. Ambient air inside the indoor growing environment is drawn into one or more fan casings coupled to an air intake manifold. The ambient air is then expelled from the air intake manifold, through two or more air outlet ports and into to or more air tubes, respectively. Each of the air tubes comprises a plurality of air tube orifices that are sized and positioned along each of the plurality of air tubes to expel the ambient air inside the air tubes in such a way as to create a laminar air flow through plants arranged on either side of each of the air tubes.

The present invention relates to an assembly with multiple layers allowing a closed loop automated process of growing plants in the air with assistance of a nutrient rich mist environment. The proposed method doesn’t require soil or aggregate medium. The proposed method allows vertical growth with small land footprint requirement. It further allows to grow any type of plant all the year around.

An indoor gardening appliance includes a cabinet defining a grow chamber within the cabinet. The gardening appliance further includes environmental control system configured to adjust atmospheric conditions in the grow chamber. The gardening appliance may be operable to activate a compressor of the environmental control system to circulate a refrigerant through a sealed system of the environmental control system. The refrigerant enters the compressor at a suction side of the compressor and the refrigerant entering the compressor has a pressure that corresponds to a saturation temperature below the freezing point of water. The gardening appliance may be further operable to flow air across a heat exchange surface of the sealed system. The heat exchange surface of the sealed system is upstream of the grow chamber with respect to the air flow direction, and the heat exchange surface has a temperature above the freezing point of water.