Prediction of Energy Consumption and Energy Savings in an Urban Vertical Farm Benchmark

ABSTRACT Vertical farms and three‐dimensional cultivation are vital ways to address the water‐energy‐food eco‐system that can combat global hunger, poverty and malnutrition while ensuring the production of sustainable and healthy agricultural products. Vertical farms in cities can effectively reduce transport and packaging costs and avoid waste, however, plans for the introduction of vertical farms into the city are on hold due to the high energy requirements for their operation and maintenance. This study introduces a benchmark farming building that integrates production, warehousing, transport, sales and office, to operate in Birmingham, UK. The simulation results derived from this study were generated with EnergyPlus and yielded a total average annual energy consumption of 160.86 kWh/m 2 for the entire building. The analysis breakdown shows that the HVAC system and lighting consume 52% and 28% of the total energy supply, respectively. Based on these results and aiming at maximizing efficiency, we recommend improvements on shading systems, façade elements, and lighting, in addition to the use of technology for wind energy harvesting. The optimized model shows that such improvements raise the energy efficiency in about 20%, on a yearly basis.