We had a chance to talk with Amanda Debevc and Patricia Dean from Wadsworth Controls at the Cultivate’14 exhibition in Columbus, Ohio. They introduced us to the prototype of their new product and talked about its advantages.
Amanda Debevc and Patricia Dean of Wadsworth Controls giving demo of the new Seed greenhouse control computer at Cultivate '14.
As they explained- “While designing the Seed controller we kept in mind several criteria. One of the most important was to create a genuinely user-friendly product. We made the control panel easy to learn and use and also incorporated the most convenient solutions for the users.”
The Seed computer offers everything what a grower expects from a climate control computer. It can control a single or multiple zones; indicates cooling and heating status by displaying corresponding colours and read out; shows current greenhouse conditions including temperature, humidity, PAR, CO2, and outdoor readings from a weather station including temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction and light levels on every screen.
Seed also indicates equipment status and a Why Code reading that explains the reason for the status. You can easily navigate from the multi-zone home screen to the most detailed device screen in a matter of seconds with a swipe of the screen. “We centralised every function, but kept the parameters easily and individually changeable. For instance, the grower can decide which fans they need in the greenhouse, and can switch them on or off with just a touch. It is as simple and responsive as a tablet. ”
The developers at Wadsworth Controls also mentioned the new curtain management system used by Seed. As they explained, “This is a greatly improved system in the Seed control. It can not only follow a pre-programmed schedule of closing and opening the curtains, but also makes decisions influenced by light intensity, as measured by the output of the sun. Hence, growers can set the conditions to open the curtains or not; or open and close them slowly or quickly. Tracking the Vapor Pressure Deficit and Accumulated Solar Intensity allows the grower to set the irrigation system to respond to the light values as well.”
In addition Wadsworth says, “The control knows to send a grower to a specific screen based on the functionality of the curtain. For example, it will go to a detailed screen based on heat retention if that’s why the curtain is closed, and arrive at a different screen if the curtain is closed for shading. This makes it simple for the grower to mange the curtain responses.”
Patricia Dean, C.E.O. of Wadsworth, pointed out that Seed is designed for both beginners and experts. “The control is easy to use, but offers sophisticated, detailed screens that the most advanced growers will find addresses their every need.”
Seed’s modular design allows for easy expansion of inputs and outputs. The Seed computer has both memory card and USB slots for future updates.
For more information:Wadsworth Control Systems, Inc.
Patricia Dean
patricia.dean@wadsworthcontrols.com
www.wadsworthcontrols.com
By Luca Utassy and Boy de Nijs