Green technologies to enhance sustainable food production in colder regions via adoption of smart greenhouse

Amidst climate change, dwindling resources, and a growing population, the farming industry has faced significant pressure. Nevertheless, rapid advancements in modern agricultural technology offer substantial potential for increasing production efficiency in colder regions. The proposed Smart Greenhouse (SGH) provides a controlled environment for crops. The SGH consists of heat sources from an 8 m2 solar water heating system, weather stations to monitor the outside SGH temperature and humidity, light sensors, humidity sensors and temperature sensors inside SGH to monitor SGH performance. Several selected crops were experimented with and grown inside the developed SGH during the cold winter when cultivable land is typically left fallow due to extreme cold weather conditions. The prototype SGH results show improved environmental conditions compared to the exterior conditions of the SGH, with a temperature difference of 7°C and a relative humidity (RH) level of 25%. This paper also discusses the limitations of current SGH system designs and proposes future design improvements.