What’s A Hydroponic Farm Start Up Cost? Know What To Expect
Is a typical hydroponic farm start-up cost very steep?
Or is it something that’s affordable and easy to manage?
If you are looking into starting with hydroponic farming, you may be quite eager to know the overhead and upfront cost.
So, get to know more about the necessary cost you should include in your budget as you read along. Here are the typical expenses to take note of when starting a hydroponic farm.
Hydroponic Farm Start Up Cost You Should Know
When determining an average hydroponic farm start up cost, you need to also take into account having a greenhouse. you can buy or even build. The size of your greenhouse impacts the overall cost of your hydroponic farm.
Moreover, the size depends on how many crops you are planning to cultivate and grow.
If you want to build a greenhouse that’s about a few thousand square feet, you can expect to pay about $11,000 USD. But this is the standard size for commercial greenhouses.
The price significantly goes down the smaller your greenhouse gets.
Read more: Is PVC Safe for Hydroponics? Behind the Safety of These Plastics
Materials and Equipment
Next up, let’s talk about the equipment you need. These include your growing tunnels, water solvent, racks, lighting, nutrient reservoirs, UV filtration, and seeds.
For these items, we are looking at a few thousand dollars in addition to the figure we have mentioned earlier for the greenhouse price.
Recurring Expenses
Setting up a hydroponic farm is not all about the upfront cost. There are also recurring bills to think about, which are basically your electric and water expenses. Expect to pay about $500 per month since your farm would need ample light and water to sustain the growth and development of your crops.
Lettuce plant growing in vegetable hydroponic farm.
Indoor Hydroponic Farm Cost
There are some people who may opt to do indoor hydroponic farming. The cost is also dependent on the size of the farm and any other materials you need.
For instance, a 500 square feet hydroponic farm should cost about $110,000, which is just for the unit and the components such as 192 towers, 15 racks, 2 lighting racks, 48 lighting units, and a 330-gallon reservoir for nutrients, complete with automated nutrient management and UV filtration.
With all of these things in place, you already have a very production hydroponic vertical farm that you can place indoors – measuring 500 square feet.
Hydroponic Systems
There are different tiers for hydroponic systems, which include the low-tech or DIY, which should cost you about $50 up to $200.
But if you opt for mid-tech, you can easily purchase these at suppliers. They come with higher-end lighting technology and even water flow control in some cases. The cost can go from $300 to as much as $1000, and it all depends on the features and size.
As for the high-tech ones, there is complete system control for higher volume production. In this case, we are talking tens of thousands of dollars upfront.
Bringing The Cost Down
Is it possible to bring down the cost of a hydroponic farm?
It is possible but this all depends on the equipment you use. If you opt to create a DIY farm, then it will be cheaper but may be risky if the systems are not working well.
Thus, you should determine your goals, your budget, and what your intentions are for setting up your hydroponic farm. You can also start small, if you are uncertain if you want to go in it full time. Or, you can choose low-tech hydroponic systems at the onset and slowly invest in higher tech systems.
The choice is all up to you, so go ahead and consider these tips, run the numbers in your head, and enjoy the world of hydroponics!