Does it make sense to set up an indoor farm in India which would only use artificial LED lighting?
I did some high level calculation. Can someone shed some light on whether this is correct or not?
Costing for 64 sq.ft. area (growing lettuce) (L=8ft, B=8ft):
Revenue estimation:
Spacing between plant: 8 inch
Total lettuce plant in 64 sq.ft. : = 12 * 12 = 144 plants
Average yield of lettuce plant: 0.2 kg/plant
Cycle time: approx 30 days
Total yield obtained: 144 * 0.2 = 28.8 kgs
Selling price: 200 Rs/kg
Total revenue per cycle: 200 * 28.8 = 5760 Rs.
LED cost estimation:
Wattage required for Lettuce: 40 W/sq.ft.
Watts required for 64 sq.ft. : 40 * 64 = 2560W
Led on time: 16hrs for 30 days each (1 cycle)
Total kWh per cycle: 2560 * 16 * 30 / 1000 = 1228.8 kWh
Cost of electricity: 8 Rs./kWh
Total LED cost for 1 cycle for 1 sq.ft area = 1228.8 * 8 = 9830.4 Rs.
Total loss = 9830.4 - 5760 = 4070 Rs
Does it make sense to use LED lighting in India as this leads to huge electricity cost?