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South Zone

The furnace. Hottest at solar noon, highest natural light, driest VPD. The south end sits between the two angled exhaust faces as the hex tapers to its narrowest point. Home to canna lilies and tropical ornamentals that thrive in conditions that would stress production crops.

Active Control Zone

Counts toward launch climate control with 1 active-control crop profile.

Current Control Crop

Canna is occupied at SOUTH-FLOOR-1 in v_position_current.

Control Role

South uses a wider VPD tolerance than east, so misting is deprioritized unless heat/VPD stress is high.

South end with twin KEN BROWN exhaust fans on the angled faces, overhead mister nozzles, and climate sensor
Exhaust fan closeup with red mister nozzles on the irrigation header
The south zone with exhaust fans, mister nozzles, and the hottest microclimate at solar noon
## Climate Profile
MetricValueContext
Peak temperature (hot day)100.4°FMarch 25, 88°F outdoor
Avg peak vs greenhouse avg+5-9°FConsistently the hottest zone at noon
Overnight retention2-4°F above northConcrete slab stores solar heat
VPD at peakHighest in greenhouseExhaust fans pull humid air out here
CO₂Elevated midday (+150 ppm)Soil microbial activity from floor pots

Why It’s Hottest

Three factors stack:

  1. Hex taper — the south wall is the narrowest (~8-10 ft), concentrating solar gain per square foot of floor
  2. Exhaust path — both Ken Brown 18” fans are mounted high on the southwest and southeast angled faces. They still pull hot air toward and out of the south end
  3. Peak solar angle — at solar noon, the south-facing surfaces receive maximum radiation

The Heat Spot Rotation

South isn’t always hottest. The heat rotates through the day:

  • Solar noon (12 PM): South is hottest (100°F+)
  • 2 PM: North catches up (93.6°F — house thermal mass releasing stored heat)
  • Late afternoon: West takes the lead (setting sun on the longest wall)
  • Overnight: South retains heat from concrete slab (2-4°F above north)

Physical Layout

South Floor

Kind: floor; Tier: 0; Position scheme: SOUTH-FLOOR-{N}

South Shelf (Bottom)

Kind: shelf; Tier: 0; Position scheme: SOUTH-SHELF-{T|B}{1..4}

South Shelf (Top)

Kind: shelf; Tier: 1; Position scheme: SOUTH-SHELF-{T|B}{1..4}

Wall Structure

The south end is a three-face taper. Two shelf bays on the southeast angled wall and two on the southwest angled wall flank the narrower south center face. The two exhaust fans are mounted high on those angled faces, not on the center face.

Equipment

fan1 (Exhaust Fan 1)

Kind: fan; Model: KEN BROWN 18" Shutter; Watts: 52W; Cost/hr: USD 0.006

fan2 (Exhaust Fan 2)

Kind: fan; Model: KEN BROWN 18" Shutter; Watts: 52W; Cost/hr: USD 0.006

mister_south (South Misters)

Kind: mister; Model: Micro Drip 360; Watts: —; Cost/hr: —

mister_south_fert (South Misters (fert path))

Kind: valve; Model: —; Watts: —; Cost/hr: —

South misters are the most effective zone (0.15 kPa avg VPD drop per pulse).

Water Systems

south_mister_fert (South Misters (fert))

Kind: fertigation; Heads: 6; Nozzles: 30; Mount: Wall-mounted, 2 rows; Fert: yes

south_mister_clean (South Misters (clean))

Kind: mister; Heads: 6; Nozzles: 30; Mount: Wall-mounted, 2 rows; Fert: no

Wall drip is shared with the west zone — ONE physical circuit serves both. Mister (clean) runs on VPD-triggered pulses (60s on / 45s gap); mister (fert) is manual.

Sensors

camera.south

Kind: camera; Protocol: frigate; Model: camera model withheld; Addr: —

climate.south

Kind: climate_probe; Protocol: modbus_rtu; Model: Tzone RS485 (SHT3X); Addr: configured

soil.south

Kind: soil_probe; Protocol: modbus_rtu; Model: DFRobot SEN0601; Addr: configured

VPD is derived on the ESP32 (Magnus formula) from temperature + RH at 10s intervals. Soil sensors report at 30s.

Current Plantings

SOUTH-FLOOR-1Canna Lilies · vegetative

Planted 2025-01-01; 497 days in place.

The south zone’s VPD target is the highest in the greenhouse because cannas tolerate dry air up to 1.8+ kPa. This means the mister stress-score algorithm deprioritizes south in favor of zones with more sensitive active-control crops in east hydro. Center orchids are planned/observed only for launch and do not count as active control. South misters fire only when VPD exceeds the canna’s wide comfort zone. Also suitable: peppers, tomatoes, heat-tolerant herbs. Anything that tolerates 90-100F and high VPD.

**Avoid:** Lettuce, cilantro, spinach — anything that bolts above 80°F. The south zone exceeds 80°F routinely from March through October. → See Climate at 5,000 Feet for the full thermal analysis. → See Cooling and ventilation for exhaust fan details. → See All Zones

Zone Profile

South Zone

Slug south; status active.

Front-facing, highest direct light

Sensor Modbus addr 4.

100.0°F

Recorded/known peak temperature.

1

Active crop records. Position scheme: SOUTH-FLOOR-{N}, SOUTH-SHELF-{T|B}{1..4}, SOUTH-SHELF-{T|B}{1..4}.