Smart greenhouse construction: A new direction for facility agriculture development

With the rapid development of facility horticulture, intelligent greenhouses—commonly referred to as multi-span greenhouses or modern greenhouses—have emerged. These represent a specialized type of facility agriculture, equipped with an integrated environmental control system that allows direct adjustment of various factors inside, such as temperature, light, water, fertilizer, and air. As a result, they enable year-round high yields, ensuring stable and meticulous production of vegetables and flowers while delivering excellent economic returns.

What is a smart greenhouse?

A smart greenhouse, also known as an automated greenhouse, refers to a high-tech "intelligent" greenhouse equipped with computer-controlled features such as movable skylights, shading systems, insulation mechanisms, wet curtain/fan-based cooling systems, as well as automated facilities like spray or drip irrigation systems and mobile seedling beds—all designed to optimize the agricultural greenhouse environment. Typically, the control system of a smart greenhouse consists of three main components: a signal acquisition system, a computer, and a control system.

Smart greenhouses thrive on their "control systems."

The "system" of the smart greenhouse refers to the intelligent greenhouse monitoring system. It integrates sensors, an automated control system, communication technologies, computer systems, and expert systems into a unified platform. By pre-installing a variety of environment parameters tailored to the growth needs of different crops, this system establishes an intelligent hardware-and-software framework for the greenhouse, enabling automatic monitoring and precise control of factors such as temperature, humidity, light, carbon dioxide levels, and nutrient solutions within the greenhouse.

Within a greenhouse, factors such as temperature, humidity, light intensity, as well as soil temperature and moisture content, play a critical role in crop growth. The greenhouse automation control system, centered around a PLC and utilizing a computer-based distributed network architecture, enables real-time automatic adjustment and continuous monitoring of key parameters—including air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, soil moisture, light intensity, water flow, and pH/EC levels—thereby creating an optimal growing environment for plants. This ensures that greenhouse conditions closely match the ideal values envisioned by growers, effectively meeting the developmental needs of greenhouse crops. This advanced system is particularly suited for applications such as seedling propagation, high-yield cultivation, and the cultivation of premium flowers, helping to boost greenhouse product yields and significantly enhance labor productivity. It stands as a successful example of how cutting-edge technological advancements can be leveraged to support large-scale, modern agricultural production.

Computer operators input the data and control parameters required for the crops into the system, enabling fully automated, unmanned operation. The system accurately collects, displays, and compiles all relevant data, providing reliable insights that support expert decision-making. Additionally, the control cabinet is equipped with a manual/automatic switch, allowing operators to take over and perform manual controls when necessary.