The Sun Grow Cube www.sungrowcube.com
Introduction The Grow Cube concept started in the USA, after I visited an established solar installation company in Portland Maine. The owner had built an over engineered timber 2 story building to trial out the growing of Makati/Shitake mushrooms on a pile of Oak Logs that had been soaked in warm water for a month. 6 x 250 watt solar panels were used to power DC fans, which transferred warm air from the 1 st floor to the ground floor where the logs were located. This was an early stage test development, with the end plan to build a large scale commercial mushroom growing facility in the future. This type of Mushroom is very expensive in USA stores
Understanding Hydroponics Our Quality Demonstration hydroponics mini grow cube incorporates the same components as used in the commercial sized hydroponic green houses. The mini grow cube consists of a fold up LED grow light tube which represents the light colours of the sun, the organic nutrient I selected for the plants is added manually as and when the level indicator shows red. There is no soil to dry out, no chemicals or the need for a fertilizer to produce many types of edible foods, from herbs to salads to vegetables and strawberries.
Mini Grow Cube now available for home grow and school education The mini grow cube kits are now available in the UK direct from our office in China by DHL from 60.00 each including delivery door to door. Contact me on 0044 (0)1202881115
A self standing hydroponics Grow Cube located in a German Supermarket This latest idea from a German company comes in many formats depending on where you want to grow the salad/herb plants in hydroponic conditions. The shell is made of poly carbonate sheets within a aluminium frame. LED Grow lights maintain the growth of the sown seeds 18hrs a day. The customer can buy a tray of salad while still in a growing stage as a chemical/soil free produce. The nutrients within the water is pumped across the trays above, where the soilless plants will continue to grow as long as there is a 28c warmth & humidity and correct LED grow lights to replace the suns UV rays.
Moving on to the introduction of our Commercial Sun Grow Cube When you search the internet for companies producing vegetables, salads and soft fruit through a hydroponics process, expanding across the world what is missing in the grow process is the use of renewable energy. What is also very common, is the continued use of glass green houses for maximum sunlight that all seeds need for the production of food. The BIG problem in growing food 365 days a year is the changing weather, with climate change a new threat to mass food production. Every glass house food producer across the world invests a lot of money to maintain the ideal humidity and temperature to maximise the production of the salad, vegetables and soft fruit grown in Green Houses. In hot countries like Spain, very little grows in the hot summer months, while in the UK, green houses will need some form of heating for 3-4 months a year. Then there is the sunlight quality issues over a typical grow year, which is why large scale green houses use high sodium lights adding further to increasing operational costs by the food producers.
The majority of current green house lighting is from HPS lamps of 1,000 w As with most of the worlds glass houses, all the heat is lost through the glass roof, adding huge amounts of energy costs to end product
We see a big future in the use of insulated wall forms as a windowless greenhouse build kit system The following pages will demonstrate the wider benefits of combining the best of UK/USA building materials and today's proven low cost renewable energy technology that could provide the world with a more sustainable and safe way to grow food plants
The current use of Wall Form in Ghana The hollow insulated wall form is filled with concrete for strength, finished with a traditional pitched roof. No air conditioning or heating is required.
Introducing the self assembly Sun Grow Cube Having decided on the size of the grow cube you are seeking to build with the land approved for a none permanent build fixture, as no concrete foundations are used. Take a roll of strong string with wooden pegs and mark out the length and width of the Cube size you have selected (Minimum size is 20ft x 8ft x 8 ft, the size of a sea container) Metal Spikes with 3 inch square treated 8ft recycled plastic wood posts (shown on the right) are the supports for the single story insulated wall form build. We recommend 2-3 metal spike posts hammered into the ground every 60cm subject to the countries weather and ground conditions. The Metal Spike supports are 64cm long with a open metal box of 9cm square x 16cm for the post
Galvanised Spike Posts Supports
Self assembly Sun Grow Cube overview
The Sun Grow Cube Component Parts The Galvanised Post Spikes are the first parts of the self build cube to be placed in position at 60cm spaces in readiness for the 2.4 meter x 7.5 cm square posts to be hammered into the top part of the spike post. Its important that the positioning of these spikes is both straight and upright and all in the ground at the same height.
The Sun Grow Cube Component Parts The major part of the Sun Grow Cube, is the extruded polystyrene Beco Wall Form flat pack sections. A German developed form of construction, licence to Beco Wall Form in the UK. Mr R Millar the owner of Beco is our exclusive UK partner in the development of the Sungrow Cube. The standard gap is 13cm for domestic homes, but for our single story Sungrow Cube, the gap has been reduced to 8 cm. The gap allows for the 7.5cm timber treated posts to placed into the Metal spikes from above, once the wall height construction is completed. The interconnecting Wall Form sections is very strong. An alternative build method is also available
The Sungrow Cube Component Parts The Beco Wall Form system is a highly insulated structure resulting in a U value of 0.30 W/m²K thus providing a zero energy build. For our single story Sungrow Cube, we have selected the standard 250 expanded polystyrene wall panel with a measurement of 1205 mm x 100mm tall with a weight per panel of just 800g each. Delivery is in flat pack for self assembly on site using the re sized metal cross bars that with a tool lock into the top and bottom of the panels. Unlike green houses and a majority of buildings built world wide, which are with no insulation values, the energy savings from a wall form system means that if the temperature outside was -15c, the inside temperature is 18.7c In hot countries up to + 60c, the inside temperature would be around 21.5c
Basic materials supplied in the kits, for UK/Europe market Wall form in flat pack Metal cross supports. Galvanised spike supports. Timber posts. Shield cement coated board. 4 x 2 timber roof joists. Ply board for the roof. PVC water proof roof rolls Metal washers Screws Tools needed Power drill. Spirit level and lump hammer. Saw and ladders
Proposed Assembly A 10mm thickness of the shield board, the width of the inside and outer wall forms including the shield 10mm surface finish supports the joists over the hollow insulated walls. I am sure as more and more grow cubes are assembled by skilled and none skilled workers, the assembly will change as will the speed of the build, depending on the number of people contracted to the job. There is no ground preparations as such, no concrete required or heavy duty materials that requires all skilled labour The inside floor area of the Sungrow Cube can be finished as required, even with underfloor heating covered in cement pre cast slabs to maintain the heat at 28c.
Top of the wall form structure Once all the post holders are fixed in position and in line, the timber posts fully hammered into the post holders, the 4 x 2 joists are cut to the width of the cube, fixed by 4 spax screws to the upright square posts, with all the posts and joists 100% true.
Proposed Assembly As long as all the timber posts are upright, with one side 5mm higher than the other, so the water can run off the finished roof surface and collected. Next fix the joists in line with both sides of the posts also at a 5 degree angle. The fixing the ply board is the next step starting at one end of the build cube, again screwed. Make sure there is a ply board overlap on one side of the wall allowing for the thickness of the wall form and 10mm shield cement coated board.
Proposed Assembly Throughout the cube build a spirit level of at least 1 meter in length is essential. Even if the posts are not always the same height, they can be cut to height, once the 4 x 2 joists have been screw fixed to the posts with a slight angle for allowing water run off. Its best to fixed the wall forms from the top down, not from the bottom to the top. The shield external board is 10mm thickness and comes in lengths 2.4m x 600mm wide. Same wall fixing method for the inside of the cube, with a 40mm thickness for the roof of the cube fixed from the inside to the under side of the joists. The finished flat roof will be strong enough to support the Thermaltricity PV + Thermal solar panels on an A frame an optional extra to the self build cube kit cost.
The use of recycled plastics to replace timber wood Where in the world quality treated timber is in short supply, or the cost is high, we recommend the use of recycled plastics as an alternative. The support posts are as the picture shows, hollow inside, to keep costs down. Treat plastic wood the same as you would timber wood. You can saw and make screw fixings as you would with wood.
The fruits of hard work by summer time in the south of the UK
Its now May, with many plants starting to grow fast from natural daylight.
As the sun goes down under, the short nights kick in, UK food harvesting comes to an end.
It s the final harvesting of all vegetable/salad plants by November
As with many Poly Tunnels and Greenhouses in Winter Months, nothing grows Even though are heat pipe collectors can work very well in the blue sky winter days of the UK for example, but the heating of a poly tunnel would be wasted
All the many solar thermal and PV/PVT systems components are already proven world wide. PV + Thermal Flat pack thermal stores Evacuated heat pipe collectors What ever type of solar water heating system is used, even PV + Thermal = PVT, at the heart of every design is the hot water storage tank. In our case, all our hot water tanks, domestic or commercial are all open vented thermal stores. Request a copy of what the main difference is between a unvented pressure cylinder and a vented Thermal Store
To replace the spectrum of the SUN, LED Grow lights are recommended LED grow lights as with much of the LED lighting market is growing fast in popularity both for the 50% + energy saving as well as the long life of 25,000 hrs. A Chinese LED engineer I met in 2010, on visiting an LED factory in Ningbo, told me do not rush into LED sales as it s a developing technology and he was 100% right, given what I have learned over the past 5 yrs. LED Grow lights have now reached that point, where both the cost, performance and quality is now proven and should be taken up in the quest to grow food outside sunlight hours.
All the colours for all types of plant and fruit growth without the SUN The use of LED Grow Lights to replicate the sun, if able to be powered by solar and wind, the future cost of a sustainable food chain will be achieved. Solar thermal can provide the heated water combined with a water to water heat pump for all year round plant growth within a closed environment.
Time to wake up to the SUN GROW CUBE, the all year round food harvester
How will climate change effect the worlds food production?
When the rains fail, the temperature increases and water resources become scarce, the growing of foods in fields will come to an end
A UK solar farm installation in the winter covered in frost Millions of acres of land in the UK is being covered with solar PV panels to meet EU emission targets, with millions being earned by the manufacture suppliers, distributors, installation and finance companies.
All these fields in the south of the UK, covered in PV panels could be producing food This south of England PV installation produces very little in electricity in winter months, due to heavy frosts and short days.
Growing Plants Hydroponically My personal experience in Hydroponics is very limited, but from the many months of research I have carried out through You Tube, it looks to be a major growth industry world wide. The same goes for Aquaculture leading to Aquaponics, were the fish water passes through to the plant growing area to stimulate growth. I want to introduce a 3 rd concept, that of producing a meat, like rabbit, by feeding them all the cut off waste from the vegetable/salad plant areas + other important protean for the rabbits to grow to a good size. From my past years owning chickens for the eggs, it s a fact they need 16hrs of daylight to produce one egg while eating most of the time.
The alternative is growing plants in enriched soil, that requires regular watering Planting small plants into a soil base environment seems the most natural thing the human race as being doing for thousands of years with day to day tendering to full grown ready to cut and eat. Growing anything today is hit and miss, as you are reliant on the right weather conditions, giving the time to feed the plants and water regularly in summer months
A Typical Poly Tunnel The Poly Tunnel has been a great way to grow many different types of plants, the majority of the year, depending where you live. They are a great wind break and allows plants to be established faster than being grown outside. The down side, is they cant be heated in winter months and require regular watering, which is often by mains water, if you are lucky enough to have good supplies.
Commercial Green House plant production all year round The majority of the largest commercial glass houses in the world are heated by fuel oil boilers, Biomass boilers and heat pumps. The heated water passes down the steel pipe shown, to release the heat into the glass house. Automated watering adds to the cost of growing food/flower plants in a glass house
Our World is our Greenhouse
Conclusion To prove this Sun Grow Cube concept has a viable future, as i do with passion, what is now needed is a small investment and a piece of vacant land to build the first Grow Cube on. The 40ft container size build kit, with a flat water tight roof, will be installed with our NEW PV + Thermal panels to maximise the use of renewable energy. The sloping roof will also collect rain water into large storage tanks, to further reduce the use of local water supplies if available. As much as we have the experience and knowledge in such building structures, renewable energy ext, what we do not have is expertise in Aquaculture and Hydroponics to complete the circle. We already know that the cost of these Sun Grow Cube kits for the standard size without the hydroponic parts, the solar energy and grow lights is less than $10,000 + shipping. In the UK, such a company named HG, fits out 20-40 containers as a ready to go Hydroponics unit, costing upwards of $30,000 with all mains power and water supplies needed on site. I welcome comments good and bad, to see if this idea can be turned into reality