Plant factory with artificial light: pros and cons

Plant factory with artificial lights (PFALs) could be useful to produce more food of high quality and reduce the use of agrochemical and transportation costs. PFALs is a complete controlled indoor farming system, mainly dedicated to the production of edible plants with small size and a short cultivation, that allows to provide a reliable production of high-quality vegetables. The development of PFALs was possible thanks to the steady price decline of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights along with the rapid improvement of their photon efficacy. In typical PFALs with LED lights, electricity, labour, and depreciation are the three major components of the production costs. The energy-efficiency must be improved to an ecologically friendly development of PFALs. The reduction of energy consumption and the increase in production and commercial value can be achieved by improving the digital control of the cultivation and by applying models to predict both crop growth and development.