Energy chain and intelligent sensors for precision watering trolleys with a span of 45m

• What was needed: E2-energy chain, iSense sensor technology for condition monitoring of the energy chain
• Requirements: The supply lines should run safely in a fail-safe guidance above the ground.
• Industry: agricultural engineering
• Success for the customer: The safe and low-wear guidance in the energy chain enables long service lives, whereby the area below the cable routing can also be used for potted plants. As a result, the customer can expect the investment to be amortised after just four years.

"Watering trolleys" are used in horticulture to supply plants with water and the nutrients dissolved in it, as well as pesticides if necessary. Dercks Gartenbau GmbH has developed the "precision watering trolley" to minimise the amount of water applied and used. The idea behind it is to give the plants exactly as much water as they need to grow.
Using this irrigation system, the company is able to apply the water precisely to the centre of the pot. However, it is not only the potential for saving water that is great on the company's potted plants, which are planted on around 8 hectares of open land. In addition to a reduction to 35% of the amount of water that would otherwise be required to be brought to the watering trolleys, the electricity consumption for operating the pumps can also be reduced by around half.
Following the idea in spring 2015, an initial prototype was constructed for the precision watering trolley, which operates on a footprint of 2,400 m2 and supplies plants in larger planters with a low population density. Based on the positive experience, another, significantly larger model was developed in 2018. The prototype has a span of 45 metres, achieves a travel speed of 18 metres per minute and covers an area of 9,180 m2. With 32 pots per m2, the precision watering wagon achieves a water saving potential of around 60 %. In total, over 4,000 cubic metres of irrigation water and over 1,400 kg of nutrient salt can be saved per hectare and season.
The horticultural company was looking for a suitable pipe routing in order to be able to safely carry the supply lines, and in particular the two 1 1/4" pipes for the water supply, over the long distances travelled by the irrigation system.

In order to route all supply lines safely above the ground, the horticultural company now relies on E2-energy chain series 3500. The gentle cable routing is complemented by the low weight of the plastic chain. At the same time, a bracket system allows the chain to be opened quickly and easily and provides uncomplicated access to the cable and hose. As the system moves above the plant pots and there are no cables hanging down, maintenance costs are reduced. The space below can also be used for a further 10 rows of pots. This extra floor space means 3% more efficiency - and that pays off for the company. According to the customer's calculations, the investment in the energy chain is amortised after just four years. And so far, this calculation has worked out well. After the first season, the horticulturalist's experience with the cable routing has been consistently positive.
The energy chain is supplemented by our smart plastic for energy chain. Our iSense module is an intelligent sensor system that is attached to the pipework and continuously measures and transmits the existing tensile and shear forces and initiates an emergency stop of the system if necessary. If the forces exceed a limit value, major damage and cost-intensive repairs to the cable routing can be avoided. The horticulturalist installed the energy chain and the push/pull force monitoring system himself.