Sustainable Microclimate Beehives

The 'HIIVE' sustainable beehive is a new take on the beekeeping structure that would provide beekeepers with an updated way to support the health of a colony. The beehive is constructed with sustainable materials and is equipped with low-energy sensors to help apiarists keep an eye on the moisture levels, temperature and more. The beehive would provide bees with a comfortable spot to build a home for a distinct attention towards the balance towards keeping the insects healthy and happy.

The 'HIIVE' sustainable beehive is the design work of Philip Potthast who spoke on the system saying, "At the moment we are conducting a field test with 10 prototypes of the latest version. The plan is to bring HIIVE to series production after all tests are made. The next step is also the development of the campanion app, which will create a new way of keeping bees. With smart sensors we have the possibility to create not only health tracking of each colony, but also a swarm alarm combined with a swarm net. In this way beekeepers get notified when exactly to expect a swarm so they can keep bees in a very natural way without regulating their swarm behavior."

The beehive is a runner-up for the James Dyson Awards 2021.

Image Credit: Philip Potthast