Robust climate control of a greenhouse equipped with variable-speed fans and a variable-pressure fogging system

A climate control system for a small greenhouse equipped with a variable-pressure fogging system and variable-speed extracting fans was developed and validated. The controllers were designed using the robust control method quantitative feedback theory (QFT) that guarantees adequate performance of the controlled system despite large modelling uncertainties and disturbances. In order to simplify the design of the controllers and achieve better performances, partial decoupling between the two control loops was achieved by describing the greenhouse climate in terms of air enthalpy and humidity ratio. This led to using ventilation for achieving the desired air enthalpy, and fogging for achieving the desired humidity ratio, assuming that the ventilation rate was approximately known. The implementation results demonstrated the good performance of the controllers, with mean tracking errors of ∼100 J kg−1 [dry air] and ∼0.1 g [water] kg−1 [dry air] for enthalpy and humidity ratio, respectively. For practical applications, the desired climate was expressed in terms of air temperature and relative humidity, which were converted into enthalpy and humidity ratio using the psychrometric relationships. In this case, the mean tracking errors were ∼0.2 °C air temperature and less than 1% relative humidity, and the maximum mean deviations over a 10-min period with constant setpoints were 2.5 °C air temperature and 5% relative humidity.

► Using enthalpy and humidity ratio yielded partial decoupling of the two control loops. ► Simple robust controllers were designed using Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT). ► The mean tracking errors were ∼100 J kg−1 [dry air] and ∼0.1 g [water] kg−1 [dry air].