A model-free control strategy for an experimental greenhouse with an application to fault accommodation

•An experimental greenhouse is regulated via a new approach: a model-free control.•The need of a mathematical model of the process vanishes.•Our model-free control strategy and its fault-tolerant capabilities are presented.•Tests and comparisons with Boolean controllers are reported.

Writing down mathematical models of agricultural greenhouses and regulating them via advanced controllers are challenging tasks since strong perturbations, like meteorological variations, have to be taken into account. This is why we are developing here a new model-free control approach and the corresponding “intelligent” controllers, where the need of a “good” model disappears. This setting, which has been introduced quite recently and is easy to implement, is already successful in many engineering domains. Tests on a concrete greenhouse and comparisons with Boolean controllers are reported. They not only demonstrate an excellent climate control, where the reference may be modified in a straightforward way, but also an efficient fault accommodation with respect to the actuators.