Design and Simulation of Smart Greenhouse for Agrivoltaics Microclimates Optimization

This research aims to design a smart greenhouse that can monitor and optimize the microclimates inside by utilizing the agriculture photovoltaics (agrivoltaics) system as a standalone power source while still meeting the minimum supply of solar sun radiation for plant growth. The smart greenhouse utilize Internet of Things (IoT) technology so the results of microclimates greenhouse monitoring can be seen by users through smartphones. The research stages began with the formulation of the problem along with a literature study regarding the effect of using the agrivoltaics system in a greenhouse. Next steps were design of greenhouse construction, microclimates optimization mechanism design and its devices, and agrivoltaics system configuration. Finally, simulation of the fluid dynamics and temperature, and the functional design and system behavior. It was found that combination of the use of ventilation, horizontal air flow (HAF) fan, and exhaust fan can be utilized to maintain temperature and humidity in the greenhouse in a range of optimum values. With the dimensions of PV panels of 1.48 × 0.68 m in arrangement of chessboard pattern and maximized roof area, the percentage of PV shade in the greenhouse was 51% with 24 panels.