A Practical Hybrid Control Approach for a Greenhouse Microclimate: A Hardware-in-the-Loop Implementation

Abstract

In the present work, a hybrid scheme based on the on–off, PID, and Fuzzy-PI controllers is shown, which was applied to the model of a greenhouse for the control of the vapor pressure deficit inside the greenhouse (VPDin) through variables for heating and cooling around operating points 0.55 (kPa) and 1.0 (kPa), respectively. The implementation of the hybrid scheme was carried out under the concept of hardware-in-the-loop. The performance tests indicated satisfactory results that can be applied to greenhouses.