Anomalies: What Are They And How Do They Impact Cannabis Cultivation? Pt 1

Growers (master growers, operations managers, owners) work hard to optimize their facility. Hours are spent finding the right building contractors, sifting through the pandemonium of growing products, and bringing together a harmonious team of people to carry out the job. However, hiccups are bound to occur because indoor growing environments are a complex network of interacting physical and biological systems¹! As a result, there is unpredictability in the climate patterns and interconnections within a grow room¹. Unfortunately, irregularities in climate patterns are also correlated with yield irregularities². In other words, if the environmental conditions are inconsistent, then your yields are likely to be inconsistent too! Our mission as master growers is to anticipate and prevent problems in the facility before they escalate. The above mentioned irregularities in climate conditions are also known as anomalies. Anomalies include any sort of deviation from the common trend (Figure 1). They can include both extreme conditions (for example, especially hot or cold temperatures in the grow room) or unusual conditions (such as an entire day in the grow room that is 0.5°C warmer than the day before). Climate anomalies can be detected by all of Braingrid’s Sentrollers. This is a powerful tool for growers because it puts intelligence into their hands and draws their attention to harmful conditions that reduce yields, delay harvests, and ultimately reduce profits. Braingrid Sentrollers are installed in cannabis facilities across the country and so we have an inside look at the challenges haunting most cannabis cultivators. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on anomaly data detected using Braingrid’s Air Sense, which includes three key sensors: temperature, humidity, and CO₂ concentration.

Figure 1: Anomalies detected in temperature data from Braingrid’s Air Sense. Anomalies (both subtle and extreme) are shown as green dots.

Where Do Anomalies Happen?

They can happen in any room in a cannabis facility. Some facilities and rooms have more variable conditions (due to variability in room size and shape, facility layout, and type of equipment) and this leads them to also have more anomalies. A number of factors can impact the number of anomalies detected by a Sentroller. One of these factors is location: the placement of a Sentroller (or any sensor, for that matter) impacts the quality of data it can collect. Sentrollers placed in high-traffic areas, such as near walkways, doors, and other entry points, can be subjected to more anomalies. Sentrollers located near cultivation equipment can also be more sensitive; This includes HVAC intake and exhaust points, lighting technology, irrigation, and CO₂ injection systems. Ideally, Sentrollers should be placed as close as possible to plants. This allows them to collect the most relevant data possible while also buffering them from human movement.

When do Anomalies Happen?

They can happen at any time; however, they are more likely to occur at certain times of the day or particular days of the week (Figure 2). In most facilities, temperature anomalies occur between 6-7 am when the lights are starting to turn on. This suggests that in most facilities, the lights are generating high heat that the HVAC system cannot offset. Along similar lines, most CO₂ anomalies occurred mid-day when photosynthesis rates are highest (Figure 2)³. We also noticed that anomalies often correlate with events happening in the facility, such as moving plants around, irrigating, cleaning, spraying, etc.