Novosibirsk State Technical University has developed a modular solar-powered light source for indoor plants. An autonomous phytolamp lasts for more than a day of continuous operation. The device can be modified to meet a specific request.
The project is implemented within the framework of student project activities. The team consists of students of the Faculty of Mechatronics and Automation Gleb Tuzov and Dmitry Kolesnikov, the project manager is Nikita Petrov, senior lecturer at the Department of General Physics.
The developers note that urban residents engaged in home crop production face the problem of lack of natural light. In winter, there is not enough sun, the daylight is short, and in such conditions it is important to ensure stable conditions for the growth and development of plants.
"We decided to create a phytolamp using an environmentally friendly resource — solar energy. The panel stores energy and converts it into light to provide illumination for plants at night or in cloudy weather. The lamp has a sturdy, lightweight polypropylene frame, and you do not have to figure out how to fix it. The lighting source can be installed anywhere — in an apartment, on a balcony or in a greenhouse. A solar panel with a well-thought-out mounting is integrated into the structure. The lamp lasts for more than 25 hours of continuous operation. This cost—effective solution will reduce energy costs," said Gleb Tuzov.
According to him, the key advantage of the development is modularity. All connections are detachable and the lamp is a kind of constructor that can be adapted to the user's needs: increase power, replace the solar panel with a more efficient one, or add a humidity sensor — to do this, simply disconnect one module and connect another.
At the moment, a fully functional prototype of an autonomous phytolamp is ready. The device provides a photosynthetic photon flux of at least 200 micromol/m2/s in the lighting area, operates from a built-in 5 Ah battery for at least 25 hours and is recharged from a 10 Watt solar battery. In the future, students plan to improve the appearance of the device.
At the university student development competition last December, the team took 3rd place in the Engineering Project nomination (Senior League).