Comparative Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of an Automated Home Hydroponic System

Matej Gocník; Jozef Dubovec; Andrea Ecková

doi:10.2478/vjbsd-2026-0004

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Comparative Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of an Automated Home Hydroponic System

Visegrad Journal on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development

Volume 15 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)

By: Matej Gocník, Jozef Dubovec and Andrea Ecková

Open Access

|Sep 2026

Abstract

This study presents a comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of a custom-engineered automated home hydroponic device (the Display Unit) for fresh basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) production relative to retail purchasing, assessed from the end-consumer perspective. A framework incorporating unit production cost (UPC), return on investment (ROI), and payback period (PBP) was applied across a 61-day cultivation trial across five prototype units, under two device-price scenarios (prototype: 4,990.11 €; estimated market price: 3,911.40 €) and two retail segments (standard: 27.25 €·kg⁻¹; premium: 57.39 €·kg⁻¹), with and without food waste rate (FWR) correction. UPC under the market-price scenario reached 90.20 €·kg⁻¹, exceeding the standard and premium references by 231% and 57%. ROI was negative across all analytical variants (−42.48% to −153.21%), with PBP undefined under the standard segment and exceeding the device lifetime under the premium segment. Threshold analysis confirmed that cost-competitiveness against the standard segment is unachievable through single-parameter optimisation. Heatmap sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the Display Unit already operates within the cost-competitive zone at the observed yield level under the premium segment with FWR correction and achieves full cost-competitiveness upon yield optimisation. FWR correction improved ROI by 14–37 percentage points, confirming the harvest-on-demand principle as a genuine cost advantage.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/vjbsd-2026-0004 | Journal eISSN: 1339-3367 | Journal ISSN: 1338-8339

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Language: English

Page range: 18 - 26

Published online: Sep 18, 2026

Published in print: Jun 1, 2026

Published by: Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

cost-effectiveness,

home hydroponic system,

unit production cost,

food waste rate

Related subjects:

Industrial chemistry,

Green and sustainable technology

© 2026 Matej Gocník, Jozef Dubovec, Andrea Ecková, published by Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 15 (2026): Issue 1 (June 2026)