Greenhouse Automation System

Project Title

Greenhouse Automation System

Project Area of Specialization Internet of ThingsProject Summary

An automated greenhouse system is developed with an aim to improve the crop productivity under a controlled environment. Temperature, light, humidity and soil moisture are critical factors that affect plant growth. For this purpose, temperature, light, humidity and soil moisture sensors are used to collect critical data. Arduino Mega 2560 is used to take necessary decisions based on threshold values of these environmental parameters. The control system then generates control signals to actuate exhaust fan and sprinklers, depending upon the environmental parameters. In order to monitor the crop growth remotely, a camera is installed inside the green house system and the video is transmitted wirelessly to an android app. The user can keep track of the environmental parameters and crop health through the android app. In addition, actuators can also be actuated through the app, if required. For improving the crop growth and maintaining the health of the crops a special combination of red and blue LEDs is used. A comparison of crop grown under LED lights is made with the crop grown without LED light. The green house system is powered by solar panel to make it a self-sufficient unit. Comparison of crop growth is carried out under controlled and natural environment based on the acquired statistical data. Motion detection is done via additional sensors  installed to monitor movement in/out of the greenhouse entrances (i.e doors, vents etc). In conclusion, foreign objects are then processed via image recognition to ascertain the nature of the object that crossed the threshold of the prior mentioned motion sensors.

Project Objectives

A cost-effective automation system for the greenhouses is developed in this project that will allow the owner to remotely monitor as well as control all the parameters. With the help of this system, the owner of the greenhouse will be able to control the four most important parameters of the greenhouse; temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and light. When these parameters, which affect the plant growth, will be controlled in an automated environment, the efficiency and output of the greenhouse will be greatly increased. Automation will also fulfil the demands of greenhouse industry such as energy conservation, water conservation, cost effectiveness, etc.

This project focuses on developing a small-scale representation of such a system, which can be easily extended for bigger areas. It includes a system having sensors, actuators, a controller and a web server. It works on solar powered energy, hence, it is a self-sufficient system. It will not only attract the big industrial growers but also the average farmers, since it provides an opportunity to increase the product output with minimal cost of labour. By automating the traditional physical methods, this greenhouse will eliminate the vulnerability to human errors. The system will be active round the clock. Although, unforeseen circumstances or disasters cannot be stopped but an alert to the owner at the right time can reduce the loss or damage to a great extent. Apart from the hardware setup, an android application is also designed. This allows the owner of the greenhouse to monitor and control his greenhouse right from his smartphone using internet. The farmers can then focus more on their business as the machines will take care of their crops. The greenhouse automation will minimize the necessity of any labour or physical presence in it. It is achieved by developing an app using java and android studio. Also, the solar powered system is developed to do all the electric work, hence, the cost of electricity is greatly reduced.

In addition, a system for motion detection and object recognition is introduced via strategically placed cameras and IR motion detectors within the greenhouse enclosure at various points that can be viewed and accessed remotely via the aforementioned application.

Project Implementation Method

The temperature inside a greenhouse structure is hot because it absorbs in itself the sunlight rays. The sunlight get past from the roof of the greenhouse which is generally made of transparent material e.g. glass. Floor or soil and the closed structure ingests this thermal energy to make the temperature warm. This framework is closed, hence the convection principle does not work to cool off the warm air, so the internal temperature of greenhouse rises. This contradicts from the earth-based theory called the "greenhouse effect".

Temperature Control
Heating in a greenhouse is achieved by the use of electric heating bulbs. For conserving heat in a greenhouse the roof of the greenhouse is kept transparent and the greenhouse is designed in such a way that it conserves the heat energy. Hence, in cooler temperatures the temperature inside a greenhouse is warmer naturally.There are also passive heating methods which can be used to provide heat using low energy. There are methods through which solar energy can be absorbed during the day and released at night. Some greenhouses also rely on geothermal heating. When it gets too hot for the plants cooling is done by opening the windows or air vents. This process is done either manually or automatically. The automated system takes data from the sensors and open the windows by the help of actuators and closes them when the temperature is back to normal. Air-conditioners, coolers are also used for cooling purposes in bigger greenhouses.

 Ventilation
Every plant requires proper air to grow if enough air is not available for the plants to grow it will significant problems. Purpose of ventilation in a greenhouse is to adjust the temperature and humidity to the ideal level, and to assure air circulation and thus avoid growth of plant diseases that prefer stagnant air conditions. Ventilation enables acquiring fresh air for photosynthesis and respiration. Important pollinators are let into the greenhouse by ventilation. Fans, ventilators, air vents, etc. are some methods of providing ventilation to the plants.

Lighting
Sunlight is mostly used as source during the day and LED lights can be used as a light source if the greenhouse is located in a closed space. The LED lights have special intensities, wavelengths and arranged in a specific order which enhances the growth of the plants.

Benefits of the Project

Greenhouse plays a very vital role in any agriculture industry of the world. The economy of our country is dependent on agriculture. From the last few years, pollution has affected the growth of plants. The population of the world is increasing and area for cultivation is decreasing day by day. It is a very basic need of humanity to increase the production rate of crops so that human needs are fulfilled and also to make the country's economic growth more stable. To grow off season crops, greenhouses are very effective and thus we can grow any off season crops without fear of the environmental changes. For the automation of a greenhouse, important factors which may be controlled include temperature, light, moisture in the soil, pesticide application and atmospheric humidity. The environment in a greenhouse is controlled and regulated, so the production rate can also be increased. Crops having high importance can be grown with good quality and taste. We can also minimize water and fertilizer consumption and can achieve controlled and suitable conditions. The crops can be protected from pesticides, insecticides and other harmful diseases. Greenhouses enable certain crops to be grown throughout the year. They are increasingly important in the food supply of high-latitude countries. Greenhouses are often used for growing flowers, vegetables, fruits, and transplants. The relatively closed environment of a greenhouse has its own unique management requirements, compared with outdoor production. Pests and diseases, and extremes of heat and humidity, have to be controlled, and irrigation is necessary to provide water. Most greenhouses use sprinklers or drip lines. Significant inputs of heat and light may be required, particularly with winter production of warm-weather vegetables. These greenhouses are normally operated manually, and the farmers have to continuously look for the suitable conditions.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

To automate the greenhouse, Arduino mega 2560 is used as a controller along with sensors and actuators. The sensors used are soil moisture sensor, light sensor, temperature and humidity sensor. The light sensor BH-1750 is used after comparison of different types of sensors. It is a light dependent resistor. BH1750 is the most suitable Digital Light Sensor to obtain ambient light data. This sensor communicates using I2C Protocol. This sensor directly outputs a digital signal. Temperature and humidity sensor senses the temperature and humidity if the temperature is too hot or too cold. The temperature and humidity sensor used is DHT22. It is small in size, has low power consumption. Its average sensing period is 2 seconds. One DHT22 sensor is installed in the presented system as it is enough for the area covered by the system. Four soil moisture sensors (SEN-13322) are used for sensing soil moisture in the greenhouse. These sensors are connected to Arduino mega 2560. It collects and compares the individual values of the sensors. For enhancing the reliability and accuracy of the sensor measurements, each sensors data is averaged over every 30 values. This averaged value is then compared by a respective threshold value to take a decision based on the environmental parameters and generate control signals for actuation of actuators. Actuators include exhaust fan, bulb, LEDs and sprinklers. For instance, if the light sensed by the light sensor is above a certain temperature value then the controller sends a signal a 4 Channel relay module (500 LUX) to turn on the bulb and LEDs. Plant grow LEDs are used in the greenhouse system. A Wi-Fi module ESP 8266 is also interfaced with the controller. The sensor data is transmitted wirelessly to cloud storage and an android app. The app enables user to view the sensor values in real time and the sensor threshold values can also be updated if desired, through the app. Fig. 4 is flow chart of the automated system, where T is temperature, S is Soil moisture, H is humidity and L is light, T1, T2, S1, S2, H1, H2, L1 and L2 are the thresholds for the respective sensors. To make the greenhouse system self-sustainable, it is powered through solar energy. Polycrystalline Q cell solar panels (150W, 8A) are used along with MF sealed lead acid battery (50A, 12V). Polycrystalline solar panel absorbs scattered sunlight. It is more efficient than thin film solar panels and slightly less efficient from mono-crystalline solar panels which are best suited for low light regions

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry AgricultureOther IndustriesCore Technology Internet of Things (IoT)Other TechnologiesSustainable Development GoalsRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	60000
plant growing Light	Equipment	1	5000	5000
camera	Equipment	1	10000	10000
fiber glass	Equipment	0	15000	0
actuators	Equipment	8	5000	40000
other	Miscellaneous	1	5000	5000