My brother is a farmer and he owns a couple of green houses.
The greenhouses are computer controlled; depending on light intensity and temperature in each green house, the computer system lifts or closes the window panels to keep
the temperature constant and safes the plants from too much heat or cold. The
control system my brother uses is a very well established system. The only
drawback is, that it costs a fortune. So my brother came up to me and asked me,
if I can figure out a cheaper solution. Well, and there we go with my concept
that is less than 100USD...
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| Overview about the conceptional system showing light and temperature sensors (left), the micro-controller board (middle) and the control output (left, LEDs for illustration) which will be connected to the greenhouse window lifting system |
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| Micro-controller
board used in this concept project; Arduino Leonardo |
Ok,
so how does it work? I am using temperature sensors (LM35) and light sensors
(LPR) to detect the actual temperature and light intensity in the greenhouses. -
In the current example I am controlling two greenhouses and therefore there are
two light sensors and two temperature sensors-. The electronic signals are sent from the sensors to the micro-controller board (Adruino Leonardo). The board processes the
signals and sends the data to the computer that is connected via USB micro
plug.
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| GUI
showing actual temperature and light values as well as temperature and light
criteria used in the algorithm to control the greenhouse window panel and
ensure constant temperature in the greenhouse |
I
have used Python to create a Graphic User Interface (GUI) that presents the
sensor values and the history of the sensor values via Diagram.
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Recorded
temperature and light (light less than 3klx, thus not visible in the chart)
history
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I
have implemented several algorithms that check temperature and light intensity
in order to verify if a greenhouse window panel must be opened or closed. After
processing the input signals, electronic impulses are sent from the computer
back the the micro-controller which then sends opening or closing signals to
the window panel control system. (Here simulated with LEDs)
LEDs
are used to simulate the window panel control.
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