Ideas for Sustainable Greenhouse

 by

Dzulkarnain Ahmad

Faculty of Engineering and Life Sciences

The world is grappling with global challenges on food security and food sustainability. Food security demands that everyone, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. Meanwhile, food sustainability means conserving natural resources and the ability to farm and produce food in the future without reducing the options available to future generations.  Emphasis on food sufficiency to meet demand must be done simultaneously with sustainable thinking so that in the future, sufficient resources for food production will be available.

Industrial-scale food production, solely in response to demand, has increased pressure on the already limited resources such as water, land, fertilizers and pesticides. In response to these sustainability concerns, the greenhouse is becoming one of the best options to optimize all these scarce resources and produce better yield per square footage. Greenhouse farming is a general agricultural term for sheltered structures that provide controlled growing conditions and protect crops from the weather and various pests. Now, how to have a sustainable greenhouse? These are 4 ideas to make your greenhouse more sustainable.

Universiti Selangor Smart Greenhouse

(Photo coutesy of SCORSA Unisel)

Choose the Aquaponics System

The by-product of a system that no longer suits its intended is treated as waste. One way to measure sustainability is to measure the amount of waste generated through the system. In reality, no system can achieve a zero-waste state; thus, it is an ideal condition. This may be similar to the Xeno paradox, in which the system will always produce waste. However, a sustainable system should produce less waste compared to others, and this can be achieved via recycling its waste.

Aquaponics System

(Photo courtesy of SCORSA Unisel)

Soil farming, aquaponics, and hydroponics systems are widely used in greenhouse farming. Among these systems, aquaponics is the most sustainable system, which combines the advantages of aquaculture and hydroponic systems. Aquaponics is highly water-efficient, uses fewer fertilisers and does not use pesticides. Fish waste is used as a nutrient in the plant and the wastewater from the plant is recycled and flowed back into the fish tank. This creates a closed system, where waste is gradually reduced until it reaches an acceptable range before being discharged to the outside from the system. Thus, the minimum quantity of waste discharged is reached. In certain circumstances, the waste may be used as fertilizer for other crops outside the system, leading to a more sustainable system.

Powered by Solar Energy

Sunlight is the most promising renewable energy among others. Photovoltaic technology has been used to harness sunlight and convert them to electric energy and be used as needed. In greenhouse farming, electric power is consumed to power water pumps, drum filters, lights, mist-fan, and ventilation fans. Sustainability can be achieved when photovoltaic panels generate clean and renewable energy for greenhouse use every day.

Rain Water Harvesting

Whether the hydroponics or aquaponics systems, both consume a lot of water to run its system. Thus, finding ways to save the water supply will make the greenhouse more sustainable. Collecting rainwater from the roof is more sustainable, as rainwater is collected and stored in a barrel or reservoir rather than letting it seep into the ground. In a tropical climate with frequent rain, providing harvested water for the aquaponics circulation system to keep the system running efficiently would not be an issue.

Automated Greenhouse

The farming system in a greenhouse can be monitored and controlled automatically by installing sensors and smart IoT systems. The installed sensors will enable the reading and control of parameters (pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, light, nitrite, humidity) in real-time. Subsequently, controlling these parameters in their optimum range helps the plants become resilient, fresh-look, and nutritious. By installing an intelligent greenhouse IoT system, the greenhouse system can be optimized with machine learning approaches.

Sustainability is the only path forward. The future generation relies on our efforts to secure their future. Think hard about it!