Carbon Neutral Greenhouse: Economic Model Predictive Control Framework for Education

TL;DR

This paper introduces an educational framework using a greenhouse climate control model with Model Predictive Control to teach students about sustainable agriculture, control systems, and environmental impact.

Contribution

It provides a practical, hands-on educational platform integrating real-time weather data, advanced control techniques, and sustainability considerations in greenhouse management.

Findings

Effective balancing of energy use and crop yield

Reduction in CO2 emissions demonstrated

Enhanced educational engagement and understanding

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive framework aimed at enhancing education in modeling, optimal control, and nonlinear Model Predictive Control~(MPC) through a practical greenhouse climate control model. The framework includes a detailed mathematical model of lettuce growth and greenhouse, which are influenced by real-time external weather conditions obtained via an application programming interface~(API). Using this data, the MPC-based approach dynamically adjusts greenhouse conditions, optimizing plant growth and energy consumption and minimizing the social cost of CO\textsubscript{2}. The presented results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in balancing energy use with crop yield and reducing CO\textsubscript{2} emissions, contributing to economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Besides optimizing lettuce production, the framework also provides a valuable resource for making control systems education more engaging and effective. The main aim is to provide students with a hands-on platform to understand the principles of modeling, the complexity of MPC and the trade-offs between profitability and sustainability in agricultural systems. This framework provides students with hands-on experience, helping them to understand the control theory better, connecting it to the practical implementation, and developing their problem-solving skills. The framework can be accessed at \url{ecompc4greenhouse.streamlit.app}.