Building Integrated Agriculture:

Opportunities for Urban CEA

Innovations in Agriculture Conference AN INTRODUCTION

The Future of Farming

NYSERDA Viraj Puri
2007 New York Sun Works
March 4, 2008|Syracuse, NY All Rights Reserved
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New York Sun Works, Inc.

1841 Broadway, Suite 200
New York, NY 10023
USA

www.nysunworks.org
New York Sun Works

- Founded 2004, dedicated to sustainable engineering

- Design ecologically responsible, integrated systems to produce:

energy
water
food

- Engineers, biologists, ecologists, and managers

- Created (and currently operate) the Science Barge program

The challenge
An urbanizing planet: half the worlds people now live in cities

In the USA, buildings responsible for 39% of energy use, 68%

electricity consumption and 38% carbon dioxide emissions

Increased urbanization, results in marginalization of natural world

and distance from food production

Agriculture occupies 40% of the worlds land surface, uses 60% of

fresh water withdrawals worldwide, causes 15% of world
greenhouse emissions and is the largest source of water pollution

Food travels hundreds of thousands of miles to reach urban

consumers, adding to traffic congestion, air pollution and carbon
emissions
NYC is highly congested, with poor air quality primarily from vehicle traffic, a
problem exacerbated by the trucking of food.

NYC has >55 million square meters (>5,000 hectares) of unshaded rooftop.
These areas provide opportunities for solar collection via solar panels and
plants.
Vacant rooftops
(New York City)

?
Greenhouse agriculture
(Almeria, Spain)
Controlled Environment Agriculture
PROS
Year-round local food production
Very high productivity per unit area
Very high water use efficiency
Contained waste stream (fertilizers, etc.)
Reduce or eliminate pesticides
Lightweight, modular technology

CONS
Requires efficient heating solutions or waste heat
Need for specialized technological skills
Zoning and regulatory novelty (in cities)
NYSW System Designs
What started as a concept sketch
began construction in summer 2006,
set sail for the Manhattan waterfront in spring 2007,
and opened to the public at Pier 84 in May 2007.
The Science Barge is not only an invitation to ideas and learning, but
to change.

-- Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special
economic advisor to the United Nations
The Science Barge
A prototype sustainable urban food farm.

Features:
120 m2 greenhouse, demonstrating recirculating hydroponics,
water desalination, rainwater catchment,
solar power, wind power, and biofuels.

The twin missions are technical research and public education.

Launched in Manhattan in May 2007, the Science Barge has hosted:

Over 6000 members of the public
105 school groups
65 journalists from 17 countries
Plus.. engineers, architects, developers and city planners
SCIENCE BARGE CORE SYSTEMS:

FOOD, WATER, POWER

FOOD: GREENHOUSE + HYDROPONICS

Hydroponic Systems

Nutrient Film Verti-Gro

Bato Dutch Bucket System
Technique (NFT) Plant Towers

All share:

High yield

High water use efficiency

Contained waste streams

Evaporative cooling pad wall
POWER: SOLAR + WIND + BIOFUELS

Energy Systems Contd

SOLAR
2.45 kW solar array [12 panels over 19.5 m2 surface, 12.5%
efficiency, mounted on passive trackers]

WIND

2 kW wind turbine array [rated 400 W each at 45 km h-1,

internally regulated horizontal axis]

BIOFUELS

5 kW biodiesel generator [backup power]

STORAGE

Battery Bank, 1000 Ah @ 48 VDC [2 day reserve]

5.5 kW inverter-charger to provide 120 VAC power to the

greenhouse grid
WATER: REVERSE OSMOSIS
+ RAINWATER CAPTURE
Water Recovery & Production
Rainwater Catchment

In NYC, sufficient rainfall on

greenhouse roof for
irrigation.

Stormwater catchment

Reverse Osmosis:

Energy efficient (!) (200

L/kWh)
BIA / PV comparison (for NYC)
BRIGHTFARM GREENHOUSE
PV PANELS ONLY (with PV on 35% of greenhouse roof)

Capital Cost $960 $986

Annual Revenue $44 $280

Net Annual Return $34 $84

Carbon Offset
(kg CO2) 12 20
Building Integration Key features

HVAC heat recaptured and diverted into the greenhouse, provides heat to
crops in the winter

Solar panels provide a perfect source of power to the greenhouse

Rainwater capture from greenhouse roof helps storm water overflow

(problem for cities) and provides water for plants

A rooftop covered with vegetation can reduce solar heat gain through the
roof
Building Integrated Agriculture - Applications
SCHOOLS
Large, flat roofs
Student nutrition / on-site vegetable demand
Fraction of the cost of a conventional science lab

COMMERCIAL RETROFIT
Retail (ecological marquee projectfood retailers, malls, others)
Service buildings (hospitals, gymnasiums, etc)
Manufacturing / industrial (high potential for waste heat capture)

NEW BUILD
larger installations
higher efficiency from building integration
Copyright Kiss +Cathcart, Architects and New York Sun Works
Copyright Owen Waltz and New York Sun Works
Copyright Owen Waltz and New York Sun Works
Copyright Owen Waltz and New York Sun Works
Copyright Patrick Hoyle and New York Sun Works
Copyright Patrick Hoyle and New York Sun Works
Copyright Patrick Hoyle and New York Sun Works
Copyright Chungyi Fan and New York Sun Works
Vertically Integrated Greenhouse
[VIG]
Combines a double-skin building faade with a hydroponic
greenhouse.

Lightweight and modular system using vertical NFT trays or similar.

Seeding and harvesting occur at the bottom.

Vertical spacing of the double plant cable lift [PCL] row can be
adjusted to maximize solar capture diurnally and seasonally.
VIG Benefits

Creates a productive [$] space within the double skin faade

Shades the building interior during summer

Reduces solar heat gain

Provides fresh air to building occupants

Utilizes waste heat from the building.

Vertically Integrated Greenhouse concept
Building Integrated Agriculture: Key Features

1. BIA saves land. Vegetable yields are 6. BIA improves food safety. Integrated
about 20 times the typical yields of field pest management does not require
agriculture. chemical pesticides.

2. BIA saves water. Recirculating irrigation 7. BIA brings health. Access to fresh
consumes five to ten times less water vegetables is improved in urban
than field agriculture. communities.

3. BIA protects rivers. Recirculating 8. BIA reduces waste. Waste heat from
systems eliminate fertilizer runoff to buildings can heat the greenhouse.
surface waters.
9. BIA cools buildings. A cover of
4. BIA reduces pollution. Urban vegetation mitigates the urban heat
greenhouses eliminate the use of fossil island effect, even under glass.
fuels in tractors and trucks.
10. BIA combats global warming. Up to 1.5
5. BIA recovers rainwater. The roof can be kg of CO2 emissions can be mitigated
designed to capture rainfall, reducing for each kg of vegetables produced in
storm overflow. a sustainable urban farm.
New York Sun Works specializes in the
design of ecologically responsible systems
for the production of food, energy, and water.

CONSULTING SERVICES:
Building Integrated Agriculture Site Design
Resource Demand And Supply Analysis
Greenhouse Operational Planning
Greenhouse Operation
Educational Programming

New York Sun Works, Inc.

1841 Broadway, Suite 200
New York, NY 10023
+1 212 757 7560

ww.nysunworks.org