Researchers at Mexico’s Northwestern Center for Biological Research (Cibnor) have developed an open-source, solar-powered vertical aeroponic system for off-grid farming applications.
Aeroponic systems grow plants without soil by suspending their roots in an enclosed chamber and periodically spraying them with a nutrient-rich mist or solution. The approach delivers water and nutrients directly to plant roots and can reduce water consumption by recirculating unused nutrient solution. Vertical aeroponic systems can also accommodate multiple plants in a relatively small footprint.
Named Totem, the system was designed for low-cost food production. The project’s hardware design, firmware, and graphical user interface (GUI) files are available online.
“Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), particularly aeroponics, enables efficient crop production with reduced water and nutrient use; however, most existing systems rely on grid electricity and involve high implementation costs,” the researchers said. “Totem provides a scalable, low-cost platform for vertical farming with applications in urban food production, research, and education, particularly in resource-limited or off-grid environments.”
The system consists of eight interconnected modules: growth, reservoir, pump, filter, inlet-drainage, control, power, and solar. It is constructed primarily from commercially available PVC components. Its 1.5-meter-tall growth tower contains 24 planting sites arranged in six staggered rows, with plants supported in net cups and their roots suspended inside an enclosed chamber.
A 12 V diaphragm pump draws nutrient solution from the reservoir and sends it through an Azud Modular R 100-mesh filter before delivering it to a central 1.5-meter distribution pipe fitted with 24 low-pressure misting nozzles.
The nozzles spray the exposed roots at programmed intervals, while excess solution drains by gravity back into the reservoir for reuse, forming a closed recirculation loop. An ESP32-Wroom microcontroller operates the pump and transmits operating data via Wi-Fi to a web-based graphical interface.
A 50 W polycrystalline PV panel supplies electricity through a charge controller to two parallel 12 V, 12 Ah batteries, providing 288 Wh of nominal storage and an estimated 2.7 days of operation without solar charging.
To demonstrate the system’s performance, the researchers conducted a 55-day basil cultivation trial, during which the pump operated for 30 seconds every 30 minutes, completing 48 irrigation cycles per day. The system remained operational throughout the trial and supported two successive harvests.
The researchers estimated daily electricity consumption at 44.9 Wh, including system losses, while the 50 W PV module was calculated to generate 136.5 Wh/day under conservative local solar conditions. The prototype has an estimated material cost of $719.51.
“Totem’s principal contribution is the documented integration of structural, hydraulic, electronic, software, and off-grid energy components, accompanied by design files and an itemized bill of materials,” the researchers concluded. “The experiment supports technical feasibility under the tested conditions, while comparative agronomic performance and long-term service life require controlled benchmarking and multi-cycle testing. Automated pH and EC management represents an additional priority for further development.”
The study, “TOTEM: A low-cost solar-powered aeroponic system for vertical agriculture,” was published in HardwareX.
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