Development of an intelligent indoor environment and energy management system for greenhouses using a fuzzy logic controller and LonWorks® protocol

This paper presents an indoor environment andenergy management system for microclimatecontrol of greenhouses. Two fuzzy logic controllers,where expert knowledge of the agriculturistsand growersis emdedded, are developed.These controllers consist of a fuzzy P (Proportional)and a PD (Proportional-Derivative). Themonitored variables are the greenhouses indoorilluminance, indoor temperature, relative humidity,CO2 concentration and the outside temperature.Moreover, necessary meteorologicaldata are collected from a meteorological mast.The actuators of the system are the heatingunits, motor-controlled windows, motor controlledshading curtains, artificial lighting, CO2enrichment bottles and water fogging valves.The fuzzy controllers aim is to obtain the bestpossible indoor conditions for any cultivation(set-points). The platform used is the Lon-Works platform. The controllers were prototypedin Matlab and were interconnected intothe system as a separate node by taking the advantagesof the LonWorks protocol. The systemis installed in a greenhouse located in the MediterraneanAgronomic Institute of Chania,Greece (MAICh).