Loading VibeLux...
Loading VibeLux...
Financial Planning
Use this model for project-level investment review, not just grower budgeting. It now exposes sensitivity, NPV, IRR, and debt-service coverage inputs that are more useful for lenders, investors, and advisory teams.
Calculate return on investment for supplemental LED lighting in controlled environment agriculture
Built for capital planning, lender conversations, and board-style sensitivity review. The calculator now surfaces unit economics, EBITDA-style cash flow, and debt-service coverage alongside headline ROI metrics.
Yield Increase: 50.3%
+35.2 kg/m²/year
Total PPF: 174 μmol/s/m²
DLI: 7.5 mol/m²/day
Model also applies MACRS 5-year depreciation (20% bonus) as a tax shield and, for term loans, deducts interest and sizes DSCR against the amortization schedule. Not investment advice.
Indoor lights supply the whole DLI. A greenhouse only makes up the daylight deficit (far less energy). A vertical farm stacks canopy on tiers, so the roof (and its solar) is canopy ÷ tiers.
Off — using the single lumped variable-cost input. Turn on to itemize water, CO₂, nutrients, substrate, labor, freight, and tiered packaging.
Annual Revenue
$108,354
+30,958 kg/year
Operating Cost
$18,427
240,800 kWh/year at 350 operating days/yr
Payback
2.3
years — on after-tax cash flows incl. ramp-up & working capital
10-Year NPV
$187,751
IRR: 42.5% · after-tax @ 11% WACC
Discounted payback: 2.7 yrs
Estimate rooftop solar potential for your facility.
Annual Cash Flow (mature-year EBITDA, pre-tax)
$78,364
Payback and NPV use after-tax cash flows with the yield ramp; this pre-tax figure is intentionally different.
CapEx / m²
$144
Revenue / m²
$123
EBITDA-style Cash Flow
$78,364
EBITDA Margin
72.3%
Operating Cost / Added kg
$0.60
Revenue / Added kg
$3.50
Debt Service Coverage Ratio
N/A
Switch capital structure to loan to evaluate annual debt service and coverage.
Downside
Revenue $87,772.05 • Margin 65.7%
Payback
2.9 yrs
Annual Cash Flow
$57,678.85
10-Year NPV
$94,694.64
Base case
Revenue $108,360.56 • Margin 72.3%
Payback
2.3 yrs
Annual Cash Flow
$78,364.12
10-Year NPV
$187,750.51
Upside
Revenue $131,116.28 • Margin 77.2%
Payback
1.8 yrs
Annual Cash Flow
$101,226.79
10-Year NPV
$290,601.73
Downside and upside scenarios apply a simple ±10% shock to yield uplift and realized crop price so finance teams can pressure-test the business case before full underwriting.
Linked Model
Standalone calculator assumptions
No saved designer project has been applied to this finance model yet.
Commercial Assumptions
Photoperiod: 12 hr/day
Pricing: Seasonal ($4.10 winter / $2.90 summer)
Capital structure: Cash purchase
The assumption pack includes the current operating inputs, diagnostics, scenario cases, and any linked project context so advisory or lending teams can review the model behind the headline ROI outputs.
The metrics + tables an IC or commercial lender will ask for before they approve funding.
How NPV changes when each input is shocked ±10%, holding all others constant. Wider bars = the deal is more exposed to that input.
$66.0k
Crop Price
Range: $73.6k
8
| Input | Base | Downside (10%↓) | Upside (10%↑) | NPV swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crop Price $/kg | 2.63 | $29.2k | $102.8k | $73.6k |
| Yield Increase % % | 50.26 | $29.2k | $102.8k | $73.6k |
| Equipment Cost $/m² | 120.00 | $80.0k | $52.0k | $28.1k |
| Electricity Cost $/kWh | 0.08 | $76.2k | $55.9k | $20.3k |
| Photoperiod hr/day | 12.00 | $75.7k | $56.3k | $19.4k |
| Power Density W/m² | 64.50 | $75.7k | $56.3k | $19.4k |
| Variable Opex $/m²/yr | 10.00 | $70.5k | $61.5k | $9.0k |
| Loan Rate % | 5.00 | $66.0k | $66.0k | $0 |