Greenhouses Microclimate Real-time Monitoring Based on a Wireless Sensor Network and Gis

The use of greenhouses with controlled microclimate according to the plants needs is an important way to increase the production of fruits and vegetables and has recently become one of the hottest topics in precision agriculture. In order to know and to control the greenhouse microclimate, smart sensing nodes with wireless communication capabilities are recommended. As one of the promissory protocols associated with wireless sensor networks can be mentioned ZigBee due to its low cost, low power consumption, extended ranges and architecture flexibility. In the present work, a network of sensing and control nodes with ZigBee communication capabilities is considered. The microclimate is monitored using a set of solid state sensors for temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, and CO2 concentration since these parameters play an important role in plant growing. Every sensor node is autonomous by using energy from a solar cell through a battery charger circuit considering also the powering of the sensing and control node during the night periods. The data from the ZigBee network nodes are sent to a wirelessEthernet gateway connected to a computer running a LabVIEW application that performs primary processing and to a web geographic information system that provides information about the greenhouse microclimate. Elements related to power harvesting for the implemented wireless sensor network, as well as a set of experimental results are included in the present work.