Hydroponics System Requirements

These are the latest requirements for the hydroponics system I’m building.

Mandatory Requirements. The system must:

• Be profitable; the value of the outputs must be higher than the value of the inputs.
• Be easy and enjoyable to operate
• Use the operator’s labor to maximum advantage
• Grow healthy, nutritious food at a rate and quality and cost that’s better than anything available at the grocery store, or even at the farmer’s market

• Cost less than $200 to build one minimally-functional system
• Fit in a space that’s approximately 2’ wide x 5’ long x 8’ high

Optional Requirements. The system should:

• Be easy to disassemble and clean
• Be easily scaled up or down
• Be modular, so that components that have flaky designs can be easily upgraded

• Cause me to develop new skills, like 3D printing, irrigation, nutrient selection and tuning for optimal plant growth, fungus and algae management
• Cause me to develop new materials mastery in areas such as LED lighting, reflective materials, irrigation supplies, nutrients, plant cultivars, control systems, pumps, and filters
• Help me get better at teamwork

These are very rudimentary requirements, and need a great deal of additional detail. We’ll fill in the detail as we iterate through the rest of the design cycle over the next few weeks.

Version 1.0. December 2, 2022