This app-enabled smart growing system offers a whole new level of interconnected control.
You might be familiar with the term, “Internet of Things,” the name for a concept popular with technologists in the 2000s who dreamt of connecting all of the items in a house so they could be integrated and controlled together through the internet, transforming a regular house into a “smart” house, for example.
The concept is now widely applied in some products—like televisions and refrigerators—but as technology improves, we’re starting to see its application reach a new set of systems. Happily, for the cannabis cultivator, this includes smart growing systems.
It’s a good time to be a grower: grow tech companies have started building systems with components that connect to online platforms, making it easy to control all your equipment straight from your smartphone.
One such system helping to pave the way in the smart growing revolution comes from VIVOSUN. The company’s “VIVOSUN Smart Grow System” includes an innovative line of products all connected and easily controlled through the VIVOSUN App.
The VIVOSUN Smart Grow System currently includes the VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller, a digital controller that connects to all smart equipment and then synchs to a phone over Wi-Fi, the AeroLight LED grow light system with a built-in circulation fan that is controllable through the VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller and App, and the AeroZesh, a smart ventilation fan that also connects to the VIVOSUN App.
Want to know what growing smarter with VIVOSUN Smart Grow System looks like? Let’s dig in.
What’s a “smart system”?
What does it mean for the VIVOSUN Smart Grow System to be a “smart system”? A smart system is a name for a collection of products that are connected to the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The IoT is created by building products with computer chips that are capable of communicating with one another, usually through a third platform such as an app or a computer program.
Products that are integrated into the IoT are potentially a lot more powerful than products that are not since they give the user a lot more control over how those products work. Think of an LED house light: the ones with built-in computer chips can be dimmed, scheduled to turn on or off according to a calendar, or even programmed to show colors.
A smart system for growing equipment essentially does the same thing: for example, growers can program their LED systems to produce a specific kind of spectrum, to turn on and off at specific times, to react to changes in the environment (if the lights are equipped with environmental probes), and to dim or brighten as needed. These can be set alongside measured parameters in a grow tent to have the environment react to the needs of the plant.
That level of system control should make any grower excited and signals a big shift in the functionality available in growing systems.
The VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller
The VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller is really the heart of the Smart Grow System—it provides the platform for the equipment to communicate.
The GrowHub Controller is a relatively simple device: it has a number of ports on the bottom that connect to fans, lights, circulation fans, and humidity and temperature sensors. While the wiring can be extensive when a lot of equipment is connected, the result is a streamlined operational platform.
All connected equipment can be programmed and controlled through the GrowHub Controller, which features capacitive buttons next to an LED screen that displays the “working intensity” of each piece of equipment as a series of green bars.
What sets the VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller apart from many other controllers in the industry is that it connects to Wi-Fi and to the VIVOSUN App so all controls can be taken on the go.
The VIVOSUN App
The VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller may be the heart of the system, but the VIVOSUN App takes its functionality to the next level by expanding on how connected to the IoT the related equipment can be.
Check out some of the app-enabled features that make this next-generation smart system an industry standout:
Grow recipes: “A Grow Recipe” is the name given to programming for equipment that can be done through the App. This programming includes adjusting photoperiods, intensity, light spectrum, fan speed & air volume, on and off timing, circulation rates, and even a way to program equipment to match the stages of growth a plant is going through.
Grow Diary: The Grow Diary is a grower’s tool to record and plan all necessary activities for growing—watering, feeding nutrients, observations, and recording pest control. The Grow Diary also logs equipment operation and environmental fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
Automatic growth: Impressively, VIVOSUN has included a way for growers to automatically grow a plant from its earliest stages until it’s ready for harvest. VIVOSUN says this feature became possible through hours of researching and developing the perfect spectrum fit for each stage of growth along with calculated photoperiods. An exciting feature for beginner growers, automatic growth provides a way to “set it and forget it,” and let the VIVOSUN Smart Grow System do the rest.
Alerts: The VIVOSUN App, being connected to the controller, monitors and records changes in the environment. When changes occur that cause either humidity or temperature levels to reach above or below set parameters, the App will send a notification, alerting you to what the problem is. With the other smart settings in place, this may happen rarely, but talk about peace of mind.
The VIVOSUN AeroLight
The AeroLight is a special addition to VIVOSUN’s Smart Grow System. It’s a full-spectrum, fully programmable LED grow light that uses the newest Samsung 301B diodes that emphasize blue, red, UV, and far-red spectrum for efficient plant and flower growth. The 2022 Red Dot Product Design winner is the world’s first-ever LED grow light with a completely integrated circulatory fan.
This built-in circulation fan sets the AeroLight apart and is placed in the center of the system. This position is the best place for a fan since it’s both close to the plant and directly above the canopy, meaning airflow to the canopy is not hindered by distance or angle. AeroLight grow lights are fully programmable with the VIVOSUN GrowHub so growers can establish light intensity, program photoperiods, and even mimic natural wind and sunrises and sunsets inside their tent. But what stands out is the ability to tune the light spectrum according to growth periods so that the AeroLight always matches the maturity of the plant.
The VIVOSUN GrowHub Controller controls the fan as well, which is built with dual ball bearings for quiet operation and longer life of 70,000 hours. This latest generation of smart grow lights also features an H-bracket that helps connect and extend the AeroLight system from 100W to 400W across a larger space so growers can link multiple AeroLights together to cover different grow space sizes.
The VIVOSUN AeroZesh
The AeroZesh is VIVOSUN’s big leap into smart ventilation. Putting the AeroZesh a step ahead of most other products on the market is the fact that it can also be connected to the IoT, meaning you can make adjustments from anywhere.
The AeroZesh is a PWM-controlled EC fan that utilizes a mixed flow design to create high static pressure, so air volume increases while noise is reduced thanks to a dual ball bearing design. The design brings VIVOSUN’s ventilation to a new level, one that allows growers to control the minutiae of airflow, which in turn helps them control temperature and humidity.
The AeroZesh also has a built-in environmental probe that measures humidity and temperature and through that, it communicates with the Controller, which in turn tells the fan to turn off or on or to increase or decrease speed.
Ready to take your grow to the next level? The VIVOSUN Smart Grow System offers a big evolution in what’s possible in terms of control and functionality for home growers. Visit the VIVOSUN site to learn more and shop for your perfect setup.
