Review on Energy Efficient Artificial Illumination in Aquaponics

Abstract

The world population is facing unprecedented increase and with that arises the need for additional agricultural resources. This increase has put a tremendous amount of pressure on modern society to develop ingenious sustainable food production systems. Aquaponics, an emerging alternative to traditional farming practice, promises to offer a sustainable and efficient solution to this problem, though its economic viability is still being tested. The recent shift towards Industry 4.0 technologies, such as the internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence, or cloud computing, has opened new avenues for this farming method to enhance productivity, energy efficiency, and yields while enabling smart management decision-making. However, the implementation of a large-scale aquaponics system faces multiple challenges, both from the technical and economic aspects, one of which is related to excessive energy consumption. Almost three-quarters of this energy is consumed by illumination; as such, the detailed focus of this paper has been placed on the growth lights - types, specific wavelengths, photoperiod, daily light integral, and switching frequency. This paper follows a systematic approach to review the current literature on energy efficiency in aquaponics and address research questions about these topics. It is concluded that light emitting diodes with light treatment tailored for specific plant species and growth phase may offer about 75% energy savings when compared to the traditional lighting. Furthermore, smart monitoring applications that enhance energy-use efficiency and use various emerging technologies such as big data and the internet of things have been discussed. In conclusion, combining reduced energy consumption along with increased energy efficiency address both the economic and environmental sustainability of this growing technology.