Indoor farming is practiced by both Plant Factories and greenhouses, but the similarities end there. Greenhouses rely on natural light and contain plants organized in a single horizontal plane. As a result, they necessitate a lot of room and are best suited to rural or suburban settings. Plant Factories, on the other hand, may operate in urban settings because they require significantly less room than greenhouses. This is since vertical farms employ artificial light and have plants stacked in levels.
There is a general misconception that Plant Factories are less efficient than greenhouses because they require LED lighting. Growing lettuce on a vertical farm can be more profitable than growing it in a greenhouse.
We can put it down to two things: increase yield per square meter and centralized distribution.
Distribution
Plant Factories also have a centralized distribution benefit. They can be in urban areas because these farms can be run in practically any type of building located anywhere in the world. Plant Factories may be the center of major distribution hubs and even right behind a retail store.
As a result, a Plant Factory crop has fewer food miles comparing to a crop from a greenhouse.
This gives the Plant Factory harvests a sense of freshness, which helps it sell faster than greenhouse vegetables.
Yield
Plant Factories have a significant yield per square meter advantage over greenhouses. Plant Factories have higher lighting and heating costs, but they generate more per unit of production area.
This gives us the idea that Plant Factories are more profitable in the end due to continuous and more yield comparing to greenhouses.
Gross profits
Vertical farms may have higher gross margins than greenhouses because of coordinated distribution. Due to the consistent taste and freshness, a Plant Factory's lettuce will be a premium when sold in its local market. Additionally, because the vertical farm is in a city, it can distribute more fresh food to more consumers at lower costs due to lower transportation expenses.
Agriculture's cutting edge are Plant Factories. Vertical farming can be more profitable than running a traditional greenhouse. Plant Factories can be quite profitable, especially when located in city centers and making use of the distribution advantages that come with it. When you factor in the advantages of automated labor, the gains can be even greater.
Vertical farming is the next step in the evolution of the greenhouse.