As seen in EC&M: Power Quality in Controlled Environment Agriculture

In his latest EC&M PQ Newsbeat article, Ross Ignall looks at the critical role power quality monitoring plays in controlled environment agriculture, where electrical disturbances can quickly turn into lost yield or downtime.

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) depends on carefully managed temperature, humidity, lighting, and airflow conditions. The electrical power behind these systems can often be far less predictable.

In his February article for EC&M’s PQ Newsbeat, Ross Ignall examines how power quality affects operations at a CEA facility. This piece follows his successful power quality survey article series and moves the focus from survey methodology to an in-the-field case study.

Ross explains how high-density LED lighting, variable-speed drives, and automated controls created vulnerability to power quality issues, especially at the utility service entrance. At the same time, high-value crops have little tolerance for voltage disturbances or interruptions. A brief event that might be ignored elsewhere can cause measurable losses here.

Getting to the root cause quickly

A key point in the article is the risk of operating without dependable data. Without proper power monitoring, facility operators often rely on assumptions about whether issues come from the utility or inside the facility. That guesswork can slow the troubleshooting process and cause unnecessary stress on the crop.

This article builds naturally on Ross’s earlier survey work, showing how monitoring gaps play out in real facilities. For anyone responsible for CEA uptime or yield, this is a timely and practical read.

Read Ross’s full article on EC&M and consider whether your monitoring approach matches the demands of your operation.

FAQs

Why is power quality so critical in controlled environment agriculture?

Many high-value are highly sensitive to their environment, even brief disturbances can negatively affect yield.

Is energy monitoring enough for these facilities?

Energy data shows usage, not power disturbances. Power quality monitoring adds the data needed to diagnose problems.

When should a facility move from spot checks to continuous power quality monitoring?

When operations run around the clock, rely on automated controls, or experience unexplained resets or losses, spot checks may miss the real issue. Continuous monitoring captures events as they happen, providing the context needed to diagnose problems and prevent repeat failures.