Patent Publication Number: US-2021172623-A1

Title: Intelligent dehumidifier with dual coil energy exchanger for horitculture environment

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Growing plants can be difficult task and requires significant expertise and attention. Some plants require a very specific environment in order to thrive. Prior systems for creating an appropriate environment require a large amount of energy as well as significant time and manual effort to ensure the conditions in the environment are satisfactory. What is needed is an improved system for monitoring and controlling a plant growing and processing environment. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present system, roughly described, provides an intelligent environment control system that provides energy efficient dehumidification and automatically controls and maintains environment parameters within a horticulture environment. The intelligent dehumidifier utilizes a dual coil energy exchanger to efficiently transfer energy before and after a dehumidification mechanism within the dehumidifier system. In some instances, the dehumidification system includes a first coil placed before a dehumidification coil and a second coil placed after a dehumidification coil. The first coil, or upstream coil, receives environment air and cools the air using cool liquid, such as for example water. The water is heated by the cooling process and is pumped to a second energy exchange coil. The air, already cooled, is dehumidified by the dehumidifier coil, bringing the air to and below its dew point in order to remove water from the air. The air is then pushed through the second energy exchange coil, having the warmed liquid, and the air temperature is raised. The warm liquid is cooled, and pumped back to the first coil as cooled liquid. The warmed and dehumidified air is then released out to the environment. The dehumidification of the air is energy efficient by recycling liquid to drop the temperature of incoming air before being dehumidified, thereby reducing the energy required dehumidify the air by the dehumidifier. The dehumidification system is further energy efficient because warmed liquid is used to re-heat the dehumidified air before it is provided back to the environment, thereby reducing the energy required to get the air back to the temperature required to maintain the room at a specific temperature. 
     The dehumidification system is intelligent in that automatically controls and maintains several environmental factors. The dehumidification system can be programmed with thresholds at which to maintain humidity levels, temperature, and CO 2  levels. In some instances, the thresholds may be maintained as a range, such as a particular value plus or minus two percent. The dehumidification system can also be programmed with a schedule to apply certain environmental conditions. For example, the dehumidification system can implement a lighting schedule for plants within the horticulture environment and a watering schedule for plants within the horticulture environment. The schedules can be implemented for different life cycles of the plant. For example, a watering schedule may differ for particular plant seedling, growing, and flowering stage. 
     In addition to implementing a schedule statically, according to a set period of times, the dehumidification system can implement a schedule dynamically based on a feedback system. For example, a horticulture environment may include sensors throughout the environment, including in the path airflow within the environment. Sensors may be placed along the path of air flow upstream, downstream, and within an area having plants, near the input and output of a dehumidification system within the horticulture environment, and in other areas of the environment. The group of sensors may include different types of sensors, including but not limited to light sensors, CO 2  level sensors, temperature sensors, and humidify level sensors. In some instances, the humidify level sensors may detect the water consumed by the plants by measuring an increase in the air flow humidity at the input and output of the dehumidification system. Based on the difference in humidity, a plant watering can be initiated for the amount of water that the plants are releasing, detected as a change in humidity. 
     In some instances, a system controller can communicate with the dehumidification system to control the dehumidification based on data received from the one or more sensors, and may communicate with one or more other controllers to control and manage the horticulture environment temperature, CO 2 , and lighting. The system controller can also communicate with a remote server application to receive control data for managing the horticulture environment, report environmental data retrieved from the sensors within the environment, and perform other functions. 
     In some instances, a system for automatically dehumidifying a horticulture environment includes a dehumidifier, a plurality of sensors, and a system controller, and optionally a temperature controlling device such as a package air conditioning system. The dehumidifier dehumidifies air that flows from a dehumidifier input towards a dehumidifier output within the dehumidifier, wherein the air flow traveling through plants within a horticulture environment while outside the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier includes a dehumidification mechanism, a first energy exchange coil, and a second energy exchange coil. The first energy exchange coil is positioned upstream in the air flow within the dehumidifier. The second energy exchange coil is positioned downstream in the air flow within the dehumidifier, wherein an energy exchanging liquid moves from the second energy exchange coil to the first energy exchange coil along a first path, and the energy exchange liquid moving from the first energy exchange coil to the second energy exchange liquid along a second path. The energy exchange liquid being warmed when traveling through the first energy exchange coil and traveling to the second energy exchange coil as a cool energy exchange liquid. The energy exchange liquid being cooled when traveling through the second energy exchange coil and traveling to the first energy exchange coil as a warm energy exchange liquid. The plurality of sensors detects humidity in a plurality of positions within the horticulture environment and outside the dehumidifier. The system controller receives data from the plurality of sensors and sends control signals to the dehumidifier based on the data received from the plurality of sensors. The dehumidifier performs dehumidification of the horticulture environment air in response to control signals received from the system controller. 
     In embodiments, a method is disclosed for automatically dehumidifying a horticulture environment. The method includes receiving air from a horticulture environment by a dehumidifier and displacing the received air through a first energy exchange coil. The first energy exchange coil receives energy exchange liquid that is colder than the received air, the temperature of the air being lowered as a result of being passed through the first energy exchange coil. The temperature of the energy exchange liquid is increased as a result of passing warm air through the first energy exchange coil. 
     The method further includes dehumidifying the cooled air by a dehumidifier, displacing the warmed energy exchange liquid to a second energy exchange coil, and displacing the dehumidified air through a second energy exchange coil. The second energy exchange coil receives the energy exchange liquid from the first energy exchange coil. The energy exchange liquid received by the second energy exchange coil is warmer than the dehumidified air. The temperature of the air is increased as a result of being passed through the second energy exchange coil and the temperature of the energy exchange liquid is decreased as a result of passing the dehumidified air through the second energy exchange coil. The dehumidified air is provided into the horticulture environment after the air is displaced through the second energy exchange coil. 
     The method also includes receiving data from a plurality of sensors and repeating the steps of receiving air, displacing the received air through a first energy exchange coil, dehumidifying the cooled air, displacing the dehumidified air through a second energy exchange coil, and outputting the dehumidified air in response to the data received from the plurality of sensors. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         FIG. 1A  is a block diagram of an intelligent dehumidifier in a horticulture environment. 
         FIG. 1B  is a block diagram of another intelligent dehumidifier in a horticulture environment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a dehumidifier with a dual coil energy exchanger. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a control architecture for an intelligent dehumidifier. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a system controller. 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary method for operating an intelligent dehumidifier. 
         FIG. 6  is an exemplary method for automatically dehumidifying air in a horticulture environment. 
         FIG. 7  is an exemplary method for automatically replenishing water in a horticulture environment. 
         FIG. 8  is an exemplary method for performing environment control operations in a horticulture environment. 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram of a computing environment for implementing the present technology. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present system, roughly described, provides an intelligent humidification system that is energy efficient and automatically maintains environment parameters within a horticulture environment. The intelligent humidifier utilizes a dual coil energy exchanger to efficiently transfer energy before and after a dehumidification mechanism within the dehumidifier system. In some instances, the dehumidification system includes a first coil place before a dehumidification coil and a second coil placed after a dehumidification coil. The first coil, or upstream coil, receives environment air and cools the air using cool liquid. The water is heated by the cooling process and is pumped to a second energy exchange coil. The air, already cooled, is dehumidified by the dehumidifier coil, bringing the air to below dew point in order to remove water from the air. The air is then pushed through the second energy exchange coil, having the warmed water, and the air temperature is raised. The warm water is cooled, and pumped back to the first coil as cooled water. The warmed and dehumidified air is then released out to the environment. The dehumidification of the air is energy efficient by recycling water to drop the temperature of incoming air before being dehumidified, thereby reducing the energy required to dehumidify the air by the dehumidifier. The dehumidification system is further energy efficient because warmed water is used to re-heat the dehumidified air before it is provided back to the environment, thereby reducing the energy required to get the air back to room temperature. 
     The dehumidification system is intelligent in that automatically controls and maintains several environmental factors. The dehumidification system can be programmed with thresholds at which to maintain humidify levels, temperature, and CO 2  levels. In some instances, the thresholds may be maintained as a range, such as a particular value plus or minus two percent. The dehumidification system can also be programmed with a schedule to apply certain environmental conditions. For example, the dehumidification system can implement a lighting schedule for plants within the horticulture environment and a watering schedule for plants within the horticulture environment. The schedules can be implemented for different life cycles of the plant. For example, a watering schedule may differ for a particular plant seedling, growing, and flowering stage. 
     In addition to implementing a schedule statically, according to a set period of times, the dehumidification system can implement a schedule of temperatures, humidity, watering, CO 2  level, lighting, and so forth dynamically based on a feedback system. For example, a horticulture environment may include sensors throughout the environment, including in the path airflow within the environment. Sensors may be placed along the path of air flow upstream, downstream, and within an area having plants, near the input and output of a dehumidification system within the horticulture environment, and in other areas of the environment. The group of sensors may include different types of sensors, including but not limited to light sensors, CO 2  level sensors, temperature sensors, and humidify level sensors. In some instances, the humidity level sensors may detect the water consumed or released by (as in drying) or transpired by the plants by measuring an increase in the air flow humidity at the input and output of the dehumidification system. Based on the difference in humidity, a plant watering can be initiated for the amount of water that the plants are releasing, detected as a change in humidity. 
     In other instances, this measurement may be done through a weighing of the plant at different times of the day and before and after watering of the plants as when they are in the growing process, or throughout the drying process to monitor product quality. In some instances, a system controller can communicate with the dehumidification system to control the dehumidification based on data received from the one or more sensors, and may communicate with one or more other controllers to control and manage the horticulture environment temperature, CO 2 , and lighting. The system controller can also communicate with a remote server application to receive control data for managing the horticulture environment, report environmental data retrieved from the sensors within the environment, and perform other functions. 
       FIG. 1A  is a block diagram of an intelligent dehumidifier in a horticulture environment. The horticulture environment  100  of  FIG. 1A  includes dehumidifier  110 , temperature control system  120 , light control system  130 , watering control system  140 , carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) control system  150 , humidity controller  155 , plants  160 , and sensors  171 - 176 . The dehumidifier  110  may dehumidify horticulture environment air as it flows along air flow path  180  throughout the horticulture environment  100 , including through plants  160 . The dehumidifier may include a dual coil energy exchanger that operates in front of and after a dehumidification mechanism. A dehumidifier with a dual coil energy exchanger is discussed in more detail with respect to  FIG. 2 . 
     The dehumidifier  110  may include system controller  180 . The system controller  180  may, in some instances, be implemented within dehumidifier  110 . System controller  180  may communicate with temperature control system  120 , light control system  130 , watering control system  140 , and CO 2  control system  150  in the environment of  FIG. 1A . The system controller may generate and send control signals (e.g., commands) to each of controllers  120 - 150  to control an aspect of the horticulture environment  100 , including the care and development of plants  160 . For example, system controller may send a temperature command to temperature control system  120  to maintain the temperature within horticulture environment  100  at ninety degrees Fahrenheit. Similarly, the system controller  180  may provide one or more commands to light control system  130  to implement a schedule of lighting for plants  160 . (e.g., a first level of lighting between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, a second level of lighting between 5:00 PM to 8:00 pm and 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM, and a third level of lighting between 8:00 PM to 5:00 AM. The period and duration of the duty cycle can be determined, for example by the grower, to be any value. 
     System controller  180  may be programmed with data locally via an input/output interface. The input/output interface may allow a user to provide control data and schedule data for controlling the horticulture environment. The input/output interface may also be used to specify reporting information, networking information, account information, identify different horticulture environments and their respective control data for management by the system controller, and other configurations. System controller  180  is discussed in more detail with respect to  FIG. 3 . 
     Temperature control system  120  may detect a temperature of horticulture environment  100  and adjust the temperature as needed. In some instances, there may be a desired temperature or a desired schedule of temperatures for which the environment  100  should be maintained at. The temperature control system may detect the current temperature of the environment and adjust the temperature accordingly. In some instances, a temperature control system may include internal sensors to detect a temperature. In some instances, one or more sensors, such as sensors  175  or  176 , or other sensors within environment  100 , can be used to detect the temperature of the environment. In some instances, a heating element external to dehumidifier  110  may be controlled by temperature control system  120  to increase or decrease the horticulture environment temperature. In some instances, temperature control system  120  may be implemented at least in part within dehumidifier  110 . For example, an air heater system may be implemented within dehumidifier  110 , for example towards the end of the air path within the dehumidifier, and can be used to increase the temperature of the air output by the dehumidifier as needed. 
     Light control system  130  may control lighting throughout one or more portions of the horticulture environment  100 . In some instances, light control system  130  may receive commands from system controller  190  to provide lighting to plants  160  according to a particular schedule. The lighting may include different types of lights, such as sunlight, ultraviolet light, or other light applied to plants  160  within horticulture environment  100 . 
     Watering control system  140  may include a watering system  142  that provides water to plants  160 . Watering control system may receive control signals from system controller  180  to provide water to plants  160 . In some instances, system controller  180  may include a schedule of watering and may implement the schedule by control signals/commands transmitted to watering control system  140  by system controller  180 . In response to receiving control signals, watering control system  140  may water the plants  160  within culture environment  100 . 
     CO 2  control system  150  may control or maintain a level of CO 2  in the environment  100 . The CO 2  control system may receive CO 2  commands from system controller  180 . In some instances, one or more sensors  171 - 176  may be used to detect the level of CO 2  in the horticulture environment  100 . The sensors may provide the detected CO 2  level data to system controller  180 . In response to receiving the CO 2  level data, system controller  180  may generate CO 2  commands and transmit them to CO 2  control system  150 , causing the CO 2  control system to release additional CO 2  into horticulture environment  100 . The amount of CO 2  released into environment  100  may be tracked, for example as a function of the time that a CO 2  solenoid is opened in order to release CO 2  into the environment  100 . This is discussed in more detail with respect to  FIG. 8 . 
     Humidity controller  155  may control and maintain the humidity in horticulture environment  100 . Humidity controller  155  may receive data related to, for example, environment humidity levels from sensors  171 ,  172 ,  173 ,  174 ,  175 , and  176 , and may control the operation of dehumidifier  110  at least in part in response to the received data. In some instances, humidity controller  155  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  can be implemented by humidifier controller  255  of the dehumidifier  110  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Plants  160  may include any type of flower, fruit, vegetable, tree, or other plant capable of growing within a horticulture environment. In some instances, plants  160  may include cannabis. The horticulture environment may include any environment, including for example a green house, room, or other enclosed space, is that physically closed off such that environmental parameters such as humidity, temperature, CO 2 , and watering levels can be controlled. 
     System controller  180  may also receive data from sensors  171 - 176 . The sensors may include a plurality of types of sensors, including temperature sensors, humidity sensors, light sensors, and CO 2 . In some instances, sensors  173  and  174  may be placed along the airflow path extending over plans  160 . Sensors  173  may detect features within the airflow such as humidity and CO 2  level, while sensors  174  may detect features in the airflow after air pass through plants  160 . As such, a difference in humidity, temperature, and other factors may be determined as the difference in values detected by sensors  173  and  174 . 
       FIG. 1B  is a block diagram of another intelligent dehumidifier displaced within a horticulture environment. The horticulture environment of  FIG. 1B  is similar to that of  FIG. 1A , except system controller  180  is implemented externally to dehumidifier  120 . System controller  180  of  FIG. 1B  communicates with sensors  171 - 176 , temperature control system  120 , light control system  130 , watering control system  140 , CO 2  control system  150 , and humidity controller  155  in the environment of  FIG. 1B . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a dehumidifier with a dual coil energy exchanger. The dehumidifier of  FIG. 2  provides more detail for the dehumidifier  110  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The dehumidifier of  FIG. 2  includes filter  210 , first energy exchange coil  215 , dehumidification coil  220 , air cleaner  225 , air fans  230 , second energy exchange coil  235 , energy injection/reheat coil  240 , and humidity controller  255 . Air is received through a dehumidifier input and displaced through filter  210 . The filter may remove particulates and then provide the filtered air to first energy exchange coil  215 . 
     First energy exchange coil  215  receives an energy exchange liquid having a cooler temperature than the filtered air. In some instances, the energy exchange liquid temperature may be between 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit. The energy exchange liquid (sometimes referred to as “liquid” herein) can include water or some other liquid capable changing temperature when passed through coils  215  and  235 . Though the liquid passing through coils  215  and  235 , traveling through the liquid ducts or passageways, may be referred to as water herein for purposes of discuss, such references to the liquid as water are not intended to limit the energy exchange liquid to water. 
     In some instances, cold water is pumped by variable speed pumping system  245  through liquid throughways  261  and  262 . The cold water cools the air that is displaced through filter  210  and provides the cooled air to dehumidification coil  220 . As a result of the warmer air passing by the coil of cold water (i.e., the air is warmer than the liquid passing through energy exchange coil  215 ), the water exiting coil  215  is warmer than the water that entered the coil  215 . 
     Dehumidification coil  220  receives the cool air and dehumidifies the air. Dehumidification coil  220  spends less energy dehumidifying the air because the air has already been cooled towards the dew point from room temperature by first energy exchange coil  215 . 
     Put another way, the passing of horticulture environment air through first energy exchange coil within the dehumidifier reduces the air temperature and changes the temperature of the horticulture environment air closer to, to and maybe even below the air dew point. The reduction of the air temperature (and in some cases humidity) reduces the energy required for the dehumidification coil to bring the temperature of the air completely to the air dew point as compared to the energy that would be required to change the temperature of the horticulture environment air from room temperature to the horticulture environment air dew point, without first reducing the air temperature by the first energy exchange coil. 
     Dehumidification coil  220  brings the air down to a dew point, whereby water can be withdrawn from the air. The humidified air then goes through air cleaner  225  and is directed by fans  230  to the second energy exchange coil  235 . 
     Second energy exchange coil  235  receives the warm water provided by first energy exchange coil  215 . The warm water is pumped or displaced through liquid throughways  263  and  264  from coil  215  to the second coil  235  by variable speed pumping system  250 . The warm water received by second coil  235  serves to warm the dehumidified air displaced through coil  235 . The cool and dehumidified air passes through the second coil  235 , which has warm water running through the coils. The process results in the cooling of the water passing inside coil and exiting coil  235  and a warming of the air passing through the coil. The cool water is then driven by variable speed pumping system  245  back to the first energy exchange coil  215 . 
     The warmed air is provided to energy injection/reheat coil  240 . Coil  240  may warm the air to a desired temperature as determined by a system controller  180  and/or temperature controller. The output of the reheat coil is then provided back into the horticulture environment  100 . 
     Humidity controller  255  may receive control commands from system controller  180  to control aspects of the dehumidifier, including but not limited to variable speed pumping systems  245  and  250 , air fans  230 , dehumidification coil  220 , and energy injection/reheat coil  240 . Humidity controller  255  may receive control signals from system controller  180  to engage pumping systems  245  and/or  250 , turn air fans  230  on or off, and inject energy into the outgoing air by energy injection coil  240 . 
     Though  FIG. 2  includes two pumping systems, variable speed pumping system  245  pumping liquid between the second energy exchange coil and the first energy exchange coil and variable speed pumping system  250  pumping liquid between first energy exchange coil and the second energy exchange coil, the dehumidifier  110  of  FIG. 2  may operate with only one of systems  245  and  250 . Hence, in some instances, the dehumidifier  110  of  FIG. 2  can include only one of variable speed pumping system  245  and variable speed pumping system  250 , rather than both pumping systems. 
     By using a dual coil energy exchanger system, the first energy exchange coil  215  and the second energy exchange coil  235  exchange energy to make dehumidification more energy-efficient. The energy efficiency results from a cooling of air received by the dehumidifier when pass through the first energy exchange coil  215 . After passing through the first coil and being the humidified, the air is pushed through the second energy exchange coil  235 , where the cooled and the humidified air is heated before being output by the dehumidifier. Water is pumped between the first energy exchange coil and the second energy exchange coil so that it can be reuse and the energy within the water is exchanged with the air passing through the dehumidifier. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a control architecture for an intelligent dehumidifier. The system of  FIG. 3  includes system controller  180 , horticulture environments  100 ,  310 , and  320 , network  330 , sensors  340 , server  350 , and computing device  360 . System controller  180  may communicate with temperature control system  120 , light control system  130 , watering control system  140 , CO 2  control system  150 , and humidifier controller  255 . In some instances, system controller  180  may control systems in multiple horticulture environments, such as environment  100 , environment  310 , and environment  320 . In this instance, the system controller may be implemented internally to environment  100  or externally to environment  100 . 
     System controller may communicate with computing device  360  via network  330 . 
     Network  330  may include one or more devices that enable machines to communicate with each other. There were  330  may include one or more of the public networks, private networks, intranets, the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, or any other network over which data may be communicated. 
     Computing device  360  may access and communicate with server  350  and system controller  180  through network  330 . An administrator  362 , through computing device  360 , may access control data, environment data, and plant data from application  358  on server  350 . The administrator may also program system controller  180  over network  330 . The programming of system controller  180  may include temperature, lighting, watering, CO 2 , and humidification to implement within an environment  100 . 
     Server  350  may include control data  352 , environment data  354 , plant data  356 , and application  358 . The control data may include threshold data and scheduling data used to implement horticulture environment parameters. Examples of control data may include a schedule of temperatures to maintain, a schedule of lighting to implement, plant watering schedules, a level of CO 2  to maintain, and a level of humidity to maintain within the horticulture environment  100 . Environment data  354  may include data collected from sensors  340  and other data regarding environment  100 , such as for example historic temperature, lighting, humidity and CO 2  data. In some instances, sensors  340  of  FIG. 3  may implement sensors  171 - 176  of the systems of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . Plant data may include information regarding the plants contained within a horticulture environment  100 , the water consumed by the plants, and so forth. Other data such as account data, login data, and other data may also be stored at server  350  and accessible by application  358 . 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a system controller. System controller  180  of  FIG. 4  provides more detail for the system controller  180  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . System controller  180  includes dehumidification control logic  410 , CO 2  control logic  420 , temperature control logic  430 , light control logic  440 , control data  450 , network communication model  460 , I/O  470 , and water control logic  480 . 
     Dehumidification control logic  410  controls the operation of dehumidifier  110 . In some instances, the dehumidification control logic determines when the air should be dehumidified, for example based on sensors within a horticulture environment and a threshold humidity level, and directs humidifier controller  225  to activate a dehumidification process of dehumidifier  110 . In some instances, the dehumidification control logic may include thresholds for dehumidification levels that are to be maintained within the horticulture environment. 
     CO 2  control logic  420  includes logic for controlling a CO 2  control system  150 . In some instances, system controller  180  may include CO 2  control logic that maintains a threshold level of CO 2  within the air of a horticulture environment. 
     Temperature control logic  430  can include logic for maintaining a temperature within a horticulture environment. In some instances, the logic can generate control signals intended to engage a temperature control system  120 . In some instances, the control signals may be used to engage an energy injection/reheat coil  240  to heat the air output by the dehumidifier. The control signals for the temperature control system  120  and/or reheat coil  240  may initiate heating of the environment using one or more heating elements suitable for heating air. 
     Light control logic  440  may include logic for implementing a lighting schedule within the horticulture environment  100 . In some instances, light control logic for 40 may control light control system  130  to provide different levels of lighting at different times for plants  160  within the horticulture environment. 
     Control data  450  may include data such as thresholds for dehumidification, CO 2  level, and temperature. Control data may also include schedules for lighting and watering. The control data may be used by the logic of system controller  182  to control aspects of the horticulture environment. 
     Network communication module  460  of system controller  180  may be used to communicate with server  350  and/or computing device  360  over network  330 . 
     I/O  470  may be used to receive and process input and generate and process output by system controller  180 . For example, I/O  470  may generate a control signal to turn on a light based on a signal, message, or communication received from light control logic for 40. 
     Water control logic  480  may control watering of plants  160  within horticulture environment  100 . The watering may be based on a schedule, detected water use by the plants, and other information. 
       FIG. 5  is an exemplary method for operating an intelligent dehumidifier. It is intended that each of the steps in  FIG. 5  is optional, and may be performed in a different order than that listed in  FIG. 5 . The order and inclusion of each step is presented for purposes of discussion, and is not intended to be limiting. 
     First, a dehumidifier system is initialized at step  510 . Initialization may include establishing connections between a controller and sensors, the system controller and other controllers, powering up fans within a dehumidifier, and other operations. An environment control update may be received at step  515 . The environment control update may include updated thresholds or schedules, such as a lighting schedule or temperature threshold, to implement within the environment. In some instances, the update may be received by system controller  180  from server  350  in response to updated threshold data, schedule data, or other changes to data received by server  350  from computing device  360 . Sensor data may be received at step  520 . In some instances, sensors  171 - 176  may all provide data to system controller  180  at step  520 . In some instances, one or more sensors may provide data to system controller  180  at different times than other sensors. The sensors may push data to system controller periodically, provide the data in response to request, or provide the data based on some other event. 
     A determination is made as to whether the horticulture environment air should be dehumidified, for example based on sensor data, at step  525 . If the detected humidity of the air is greater than a threshold humidity that should be maintained within the horticulture environment, then the environment air is automatically dehumidified at step  530 . Dehumidification includes processing air by a dehumidifier with dual coil energy exchangers. More details for automatically dehumidifying horticulture environment air is discussed with respect to the method of  FIG. 6 . After automatically dehumidifying the air, the method of  FIG. 5  continues to step  535 . If the air does not need to be dehumidified, the method of  FIG. 5  continues to step  535 . 
     A determination is made as to whether water should be replenished to plants, for example based on sensor data at step  535 . In some instances, sensors may detect the water level or humidity level difference between the air leaving the dehumidifier and entering the dehumidifier. Based on this difference in water content within the horticulture environment air, an amount of water being consumed by the plants can be determined. If no water is to be replenished at step  535 , the method of  FIG. 5  continues to step  545 . If water is to be replenished to the plants based on sensor data at step  535 , water is automatically replenished to the plants at step  540 . More detail for automatically replenishing water the plants is discussed with respect to the method of  FIG. 7 . 
     Other environment control operations are performed at step  545 . The additional environment control operations may include maintaining the temperature of the environment, the lighting of the environment, and the CO 2  level the environment. More details for performing environment control operations are discussed with respect to the method of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 6  is an exemplary method for automatically dehumidifying air in a horticulture environment. The method of  FIG. 6  provides more detail for step  530  of the method of  FIG. 5 . First, variable speed pumping systems and air fans may be run at step  605 . The variable speed pumping systems may circulate liquid, such as for example water, between the energy exchange coils and the air fans may drive air through the dehumidification system. A dehumidification coil is set to an air temperature point at step  610 . The temperature point may be a point at which water can be removed from the air, such as the air dew point. Optionally, a reheat coil is set to a point at which to maintain a room temperature at step  615 . 
     One or more air fans may then pull environment air through a first energy exchange coil at step  620 . The pulled air is then cooled by cold liquid (such as water, traveling inside the coils, that has a temperature that is cooler than the air traveling through the coils) within the first energy exchange coil at step  625 . Once the liquid has traveled through the first coil, the liquid temperature is increased and is pumped to the second energy exchange coil at step  630 . The cold air is dehumidified at a dehumidification coil at step  635 . The cooled air may be dehumidified by bringing the air temperature below a dewpoint for the air. The cooled and the dehumidified air is warmed by warmed liquid traveling inside a second energy exchange coil at step  640 . The warm liquid at the second energy exchange coil is cooled by cool air traveling through the second energy exchange coil and is pumped back to the first energy exchange coil at step  645 . The warmed and dehumidified air may optionally be warmed by an energy insertion coil within the dehumidifier. The dehumidified air is then output into the environment at step  650 . 
       FIG. 7  is an exemplary method for automatically replenishing water in a horticulture environment. The method of  FIG. 7  provides more detail for step  540  the method of  FIG. 5 . First, the humidity of the horticulture environment air is detected at the output of the dehumidification system at step  705 . The air may then travel through plants and collect water from the plants at step  710 . The water collected from the plants by the circulating air is a direct indication of the water usage by the plants. The humidity of the air passed through the plants and input into the dehumidification system is detected at step  715 . A difference in air humidity between the air output by the dehumidification system and the air input by the dehumidification system is determined at step  720 . The water consumed by the plants is then determined based on the air humidity difference at step  725 . Water can then automatically be provided to the plants based on the water consumed by the plants at step  730 . In some instances, the water provided to the plants can be determined as the difference in humidity plus an additional amount of water. The water consumption of the plants is then recorded at server  350  and reported to a user at step  735 . 
       FIG. 8  is an exemplary method for performing environment control operations in a horticulture environment. The method of  FIG. 8  provides more detail for step  545  of the method of  FIG. 5 . Control data may be accessed at step  810 . Control data  352  may be accessed from server  350  by system controller  180  and stored locally as control data  450  within system controller  180 . Control data, which can include data such as a lighting schedule, temperature schedule or threshold, and CO 2  schedule or threshold data, is retrieved and utilized to control aspects of the horticulture environment  100 . At step  820 , a lighting schedule is implemented for plants based on lighting control data. The temperature schedule is implemented for plants based on temperature control data at step  830 . 
     A CO 2  schedule is implemented for plants based on CO 2  control data at step  840 . In some instances, after implementing the CO 2  schedule, a plant vitality metric based on the CO 2  solenoid operation may be determined at step  850 . The plant vitality metric may be based at least in part on the amount of CO 2  released into the environment. The amount of CO 2  released into the environment may be determined at least in part, for example, by an amount of time that a solenoid is kept open while CO 2  is released from the solenoid. Lighting temperature and CO 2  data are then detected by sensors  171 - 176  within environment  100  and transmitted to server  350  for storage and reporting to user. 
       FIG. 9  is a block diagram of a computing environment for implementing the present technology. System  900  of  FIG. 9  may be implemented in the contexts of the likes of computing devices that implement system controller  180 , control systems  120 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 , controller  255 , server  350 , and computing device  360 . The computing system  900  of  FIG. 9  includes one or more processors  910  and memory  920 . Main memory  920  stores, in part, instructions and data for execution by processor  910 . Main memory  920  can store the executable code when in operation. The system  900  of  FIG. 9  further includes a mass storage device  930 , portable storage medium drive(s)  940 , output devices  950 , user input devices  960 , a graphics display  970 , and peripheral devices  980 . 
     The components shown in  FIG. 9  are depicted as being connected via a single bus  990 . However, the components may be connected through one or more data transport means. For example, processor unit  910  and main memory  920  may be connected via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass storage device  930 , peripheral device(s)  980 , portable storage device  940 , and display system  970  may be connected via one or more input/output (I/O) buses. 
     Mass storage device  930 , which may be implemented with a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, a flash drive, or other device, is a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor unit  910 . Mass storage device  930  can store the system software for implementing embodiments of the present invention for purposes of loading that software into main memory  920 . 
     Portable storage device  940  operates in conjunction with a portable non-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, compact disk or Digital video disc, USB drive, memory card or stick, or other portable or removable memory, to input and output data and code to and from the computer system  900  of  FIG. 9 . The system software for implementing embodiments of the present invention may be stored on such a portable medium and input to the computer system  900  via the portable storage device  940 . 
     Input devices  960  provide a portion of a user interface. Input devices  960  may include an alpha-numeric keypad, such as a keyboard, for inputting alpha-numeric and other information, a pointing device such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, cursor direction keys, microphone, touch-screen, accelerometer, and other input devices. Additionally, the system  900  as shown in  FIG. 9  includes output devices  950 . Examples of suitable output devices include speakers, printers, network interfaces, and monitors. 
     Display system  970  may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other suitable display device. Display system  970  receives textual and graphical information and processes the information for output to the display device. Display system  970  may also receive input as a touch-screen. 
     Peripherals  980  may include any type of computer support device to add additional functionality to the computer system. For example, peripheral device(s)  980  may include a modem or a router, printer, and other device. 
     The system of  900  may also include, in some implementations, antennas, radio transmitters and radio receivers  990 . The antennas and radios may be implemented in devices such as smart phones, tablets, and other devices that may communicate wirelessly. The one or more antennas may operate at one or more radio frequencies suitable to send and receive data over cellular networks, Wi-Fi networks, commercial device networks such as a Bluetooth device, and other radio frequency networks. The devices may include one or more radio transmitters and receivers for processing signals sent and received using the antennas. 
     The components contained in the computer system  900  of  FIG. 9  are those typically found in computer systems that may be suitable for use with embodiments of the present invention and are intended to represent a broad category of such computer components that are well known in the art. Thus, the computer system  900  of  FIG. 9  can be a personal computer, handheld computing device, smart phone, mobile computing device, workstation, server, minicomputer, mainframe computer, or any other computing device. The computer can also include different bus configurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, etc. Various operating systems can be used including Unix, Linux, Windows, Macintosh OS, Android, as well as languages including Java, .NET, C, C++, Node.JS, and other suitable languages. 
     The foregoing detailed description of the technology herein has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The described embodiments were chosen to best explain the principles of the technology and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the technology in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the technology be defined by the claims appended hereto.