IntelliGrow 2.0: A greenhouse component-based climate control system

Since 1996 a dynamic model based climate control concept (IntelliGrow) has been developed in Denmark. The aim of the system is to adjust the greenhouse climate dynamic, so that the natural resources are used as optimal as possible. The concept has been proved to work in both growth chamber and greenhouse experiments, with many different species of pot plants, resulting in energy savings up to 40%, depending on the outside climate. Based on the former work a new system (IntelliGrow 2.0) is being developed which offers an improved user interface and an extensible component model. The goal is to test the system in full scale in five Danish commercial nurseries. The four steps to reach the goal are: 1) development of a demonstrator giving the grower advice on optimal climate control based on the IntelliGrow concept 2) testing the demonstrator at research facilities followed by tests at growers 3) development of an active climate control system that will take full control of the greenhouse climate based on the overall goals set by the grower 4) tests of the active climate control system at research facilities and at the growers. It will be possible to adjust the control by adding new components. A special emphasis will be on components that utilize local weather predictions for energy saving purposes and timing of production as well as components with photosynthesis based strategies for use of artificial light. We expect that the extension of intelligent climate control will result in better production management and resource utilization. A fast flow of knowledge from research to practice in the future will be established. Design of the concept and the first results are presented in this paper.