Thanks to smart solar technology and support from EPICS in IEEE, a team of resourceful students transforms a simple greenhouse in West Virginia into a sustainable space that improves plant growth
Traditional greenhouses are designed to protect plants from the elements and help extend their growing season, but many greenhouse operations are still challenged when it comes to fully controlling all of the elements within their indoor environment. Thanks to a creative team of students at Bridgevalley Community and Technical College in South Charleston, West Virginia, US, however, their EPICS in IEEE project to establish a “Solar PV Powered Smart Sustainable Greenhouse” is successfully optimizing plant growth by maintaining ideal conditions, conserving energy, and enabling remote monitoring and control.
According to the team, traditional greenhouse operations encounter a range of issues at the hands of unpredictable temperature shifts, inconsistent humidity levels, and extreme weather events — all of which can have a negative impact on crop growth and productivity. Ultimately, the absence of real-time monitoring and responsive controls in greenhouses exacerbates these challenges and leads to resource inefficiencies. This is especially true within greenhouse operations in West Virginia, a mountainous state in America’s Appalachian region whose diverse climate varies widely to deliver hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and everything in between.
Using open-source electronics programming/building platform Arduino and other connected technologies, the project team (comprised of a project leader and five students) worked in partnership with Café Appalachia (https://cafeappalachia.org/), a South Charleston-based, eco-friendly, non-profit café with its own farms, to create a sustainable greenhouse system featuring a solar-powered Li-ion battery energy storage system, a smart irrigation and fan control system, and IoT integration for real-time data monitoring. Other key components included MPPT charge controllers, soil moisture sensors, solenoid valves, flow meters, temperature and humidity sensors, a 14-inch fan, and an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module with data logging capabilities.
“We chose to work with Café Appalachia because they had an interest in sustainable greenhouse practices, offered space for the system, and their dedication to giving back to their community and addressing climate change aligned with our goals,” shared Team Lead Dr. Youngil Kim, a former member of Bridgevalley Community and Technical College’s Engineering Department faculty. “This partnership allowed us to create a solar photovoltaic (PV)-powered smart sustainable greenhouse which benefits both the café and the surrounding community by optimizing plant growth while promoting environmental sustainability.”
“Our core objective was to create an intelligent greenhouse system capable of continuously monitoring and precisely controlling key environmental variables, including temperature, humidity, light intensity, and soil moisture,” Dr. Kim explained. “This was achieved by seamlessly integrating solar PV panels, state-of-the-art sensors, Arduino-based microcontrollers, and IoT connectivity, resulting in a self-sustaining solution that operates in harmony with the environment.”
Specifically, the project focused on creating two primary systems — a smart irrigation system and a fan control mechanism. The irrigation system, developed by a student team led by project member Taylor Shank, used IoT technology to monitor soil moisture and automate the watering process to ensure optimal hydration for greenhouse plants while significantly reducing water usage through precise, sensor-based irrigation schedules. The student team led by project member Ethan Lawrence focused on implementing a smart ventilation system to control temperature and humidity, using an Arduino-based fan control that operated only when necessary to conserve energy. To power the entire system, the greenhouse’s energy needs were met using a solar photovoltaic array connected to a battery energy storage system (BESS) — a renewable energy configuration that reduces the greenhouse’s reliance on external power sources and increases its degree of sustainability.
“Uniting Innovation, Sustainability, and Education”
“Our smart greenhouse’s real-time data collection, comprehensive analysis, and automated responses will help ensure optimal growth conditions for a variety of crops while reducing dependence on non-renewable energy sources, enhancing sustainability, and minimizing costs,” Dr. Kim said. “But while our project directly addresses the urgent need for sustainable agricultural practices, it also serves as a unique educational opportunity that allows project participants to explore cutting-edge technologies like Arduino and IoT while creating a model for climate-resilient farming.”
Though the team was challenged by the greenhouse’s structural limitations as well as weather-related delays during installation, they overcame these obstacles to establish a system that successfully maintains optimal growing conditions, regulating greenhouse temperatures to between 88°F and 93°F while efficiently managing water usage based on real-time soil moisture data. Looking ahead, the team is excited to potentially incorporate the use of AI-driven predictive analytics in the future to further enhance resource management and system performance.
Ultimately, Dr. Kim concluded, “by uniting innovation, sustainability, and education, this project aims to pave the way for a greener future in greenhouse cultivation in West Virginia and hopefully also set a positive example in the broader fight against climate change.”
“We’re extremely grateful for the funding EPICS in IEEE provided,
which enabled us to successfully complete our project,” confirmed Dr. Kim of the team’s ability to help advance the field of smart agriculture. “EPICS’ support of this greenhouse project has been instrumental in allowing us to both contribute to our community and offer educational opportunities to our students. Thanks to EPICS in IEEE’s generosity and commitment to fostering educational growth, it’s been a valuable experience for everyone involved.”
This project was made possible by $4,000.00 in funding from the Antennas and Propagation Society (APS), an EPICS in IEEE partner.
For More Information
For more information on EPICS in IEEE or the opportunity to participate in service-learning projects, visit https://epics.ieee.org/. “EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) in IEEE” is an initiative which provides opportunities for students to work proactively with both engineering professionals, technological innovation, and local organizations/partners to develop solutions that address global community challenges.
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