The greenhouse is a steel-framed building coated with UV-protective plastic sheets, having complete control over the climate factors to ensure optimal growing conditions for the plants within. In Iraq, the main issue is high temperatures in summer days, which directly affect plant growth and lead to considerable crop losses even if using a normal greenhouse. Furthermore, the lack of technological knowledge among the farmers influences the decisions regarding a suitable plant environment. In high temperatures, the life span of greenhouses is unknown, it being unmeasurable. The following study focuses on solving these issues by proposing a practical greenhouse design prototype to identify the optimal climate factors for plant growth inside the greenhouse. The proposed system used an Arduino microcontroller for controlling and monitoring the greenhouse. The collected data helped predict the expected life span of the proposed greenhouse design, which will be the foundation for developing the prototype by managing expenses for different factors, including energy sources, temperature control equipment, building material, and water resources. Compared with related research, this work is the first of its kind that predicts the lifespan of a greenhouse. The farming community with a little technological knowledge can easily utilize the said system, offering different options based on the identified climate.
Greenhouse design, controlling system, Arduino system, building material, water resources
The study aimed to evaluate the performance of the proposed greenhouse by predicting its life span using a methodology based on daily data comparisons. The system could be beneficial to the farming community for improving plant growth in the greenhouse. The system successfully implemented and achieved its aim to predict the lifespan and control the climate inside the greenhouse.