Optimal control of greenhouse climate: methodology

This report describes a methodology for obtaining optimal operating rules for the equipment influencing the climatic conditions inside a greenhouse. The optimization is based on an economic criterion which takes into account the expected income from the crops versus the cost of operating and maintaining the greenhouse. The optimal control function is characterized and the analytic conditions for optimality are derived. A numerical scheme for obtaining the desired control is described and a sensitivity analysis is then carried out. This analysis enables derivation of simple operating rules for a real greenhouse.