Implementation of intelligent air conditioner for fine agriculture

In order to control the temperature and humidity of the greenhouse environment, an intelligent air conditioner based on an air conditioner, a ZigBee wireless sensor network (WSN) and a fuzzy controller is proposed, designed, and realized in this study. The valves in the intelligent air conditioner are controlled to allow it to operate in one of these four modes: dehumidifier, heater, cooler, and fan blower. The multi-point ZigBee WSN sensor nodes are used to measure the temperature and humidity in the greenhouse. The system uses PIC18F4520 microcontroller as its core to develop the fuzzy controller. Based on fuzzy inference system, the fuzzy controller processes and analyze the temperature and humidity data collected from the sensors imbedded in the air inlet of the air conditioner and from ZigBee WSN sensor nodes, determines the best operation mode, and issues control commands to maintain a suitable greenhouse environment. The test results show that the performance of the intelligent air conditioner closely matches the goal and satisfies the requirements preset by the operator. In addition, a graphical user interface (GUI) is designed to control and monitor the temperature and relative humidity in the greenhouse environment, and the Elipse Power Studio monitoring software is used to construct a monitor platform with internet browser capability.

► The system based on an air conditioner, a ZigBee WSN and a fuzzy controller.
► ZigBee WSN measures the temperature and humidity more closely to the real environment.
► The system is easy to operate, does not waste unnecessary manpower.
► The system can respond rapidly to environment variation.