How Smart Greenhouse is Changing Agriculture

At this point, smart technology and efficiency are practically synonymous. With studies showing that over 40% of Americans use smart technology to power their homes in some way, it’s clear that people would rather hand off mundane tasks, freeing up time for other activities. On top of smart technology being an effective solution, the Internet of Things is also helping people make data-driven decisions. By connecting average tasks—like turning the lights on and off, locking the door, watering plants, and controlling humidity in a smart greenhouse —to the internet, people can gain information about how efficient their processes are and adjust them to achieve more productivity.

It’s not just individuals who are benefitting from IoT, either. Corporate operations across all industries are increasingly adopting smart technology to optimize labor. Smart greenhouses are a perfect example. With the global smart greenhouse market projected to grow to $1.2 billion by 2020, IoT companies are developing new systems to help growers achieve better yield rates.

Automation is changing the agriculture sector. In this blog post, we’ll explore why smart greenhouses are the future and how they work. We’ll also touch on how amateur horticulture enthusiasts can incorporate automation into their plant care routines to save time and help their plants thrive.

Greenhouses Are Evolving, But Their Purpose Remains the Same

Greenhouses may be evolving, but their purpose hasn’t changed. They support crop growers in operating all year round by creating a controlled microclimate. While their purpose remains the same, greenhouses have gone through significant changes over the past decade, most notably being the introduction of automation. Modern greenhouses are capable of controlling and optimizing environmental factors that affect crops—like temperature, ventilation, light exposure, and more—ensuring optimal growing conditions and efficient use of energy.

Optimizing Labor With Smart Greenhouses

While the Internet of Things exists for many reasons, one of its biggest impacts is its potential to save people time and money. With a smart greenhouse, crop growers can reduce the amount of labor it takes to manage, monitor, and maintain a greenhouse.

The most modern smart greenhouses are automated, enabling crop growers to step away from their greenhouses but still control its climate with the touch of a button. Smart greenhouse range from semi-automatic to fully automated, with the fully automated option being a superior option for growers who want the freedom to come and go as they please without worrying about their crops. Take Emerald Kingdom Greenhouse, for example. The company offers greenhouses that are fully automated and come with a mobile app. Growers can monitor their microclimate within the app and can adjust key factors that affect crop yields accordingly.

The Key Components of an Effective Smart Greenhouse

A smart greenhouse is automated, similar to smart technology you’d find in the average American household—but its automation capabilities go well beyond just turning the lights on and off. Smart greenhouses can control the most critical factors that affect crop yields, including temperature, ventilation, light exposure, moisture, and more.

Smart greenhouses use machine learning to process and remember information about your crops and their ideal climate. These systems can then make recommendations based on their findings, or growers can use their mobile app to adjust key factors to achieve better yield rates. Either way, having the power to adjust your microclimate via a mobile device gives you a lot more control over your operations, as well as what you do with your time.

Incorporating Automation Into Even the Smallest Greenhouse or At-Home Garden

You don’t need to have a commercial-level agriculture operation to take advantage of automation. Even the smallest greenhouses, gardens, and even in-house plant collections can leverage smart technology to achieve better results. Automated watering systems, such as the Goldoon, exist to give you more flexibility with how you care for your plants. The Goldoon learns about your plant and its needs and adjusts its water levels to help it thrive. The Goldoon is a new but powerful plant watering system. If you’re a plant enthusiast, you’ll want to check it out. Right now, Goldoon is offering $50 off for everyone who pre-orders their own automated plant watering system.

Do you have plants at home? How do you make sure they’re in the best shape possible? Perhaps you have a greenhouse in your yard or are part of a larger commercial greenhouse operation. We’d love to hear about your processes and where you think you could use a little automation. Comment below to tell us about how your greenhouse functions.