Smart sustainable greenhouses utilizing microcontroller and IOT in the GCC countries; energy requirements & economical analyses study for a concept model in the state of Qatar

A smart sustainable greenhouse concept model (SSGHCM) was built to demonstrate the effectiveness and the profitability of using renewable energy and smart control systems in closed agriculture environment. SSGHCM is powered by solar photovoltaic energy and utilizes waste water management. Microcontrollers and multiple sensing arrangement were installed to completely control the irrigation, temperature and humidity of the greenhouse autonomously. Two types of control systems were used; microcontrollers connected to LabVIEW and a wireless control system based IOT. It was found that the installed PV capacity with storage can support the required energy. IOT combined with microcontrollers, as well as using the renewable energy in greenhouses in the GCC countries can make vegetable growth a profitable investment. Water recycling and management system is contributing to reduction of water need to around 40% of that needed for traditional greenhouses. Condensate from the AC contributes to around 65% of the needed water for irrigation by collecting the condensate from these systems. All of these factors will further improve the profitability of smart sustainable greenhouses and contribute largely to food security in the GCC countries. Scaled to commercial greenhouses, the economic analysis showed an attractive investment with 340% ROI and 5 years of payout period.