Manage your greenhouse with a Raspberry Pi Pico W
Sheltered Growth
© Lead Image © Ledda Maria Rita, 123RF.com
You can safely assign some greenhouse tasks to a Raspberry Pi Pico W, such as controlling ventilation, automating a heater, and opening and closing windows.
When implementing my greenhouse control system, I didn't have to start completely from scratch. An older control system already existed with which I had a little experience. Building on this established setup, I decided to use power windows for the hinged skylights (Figure 1) and a fan to circulate the air in the greenhouse. Also, when nighttime temperatures dropped in the spring and fall, I wanted a heater to switch on automatically. In contrast, crops needed protection against excessive heat in summer.
Figure 1: The automatic greenhouse control system regulates when the skylights open and close.
An intelligent control system would also be nice to reference the outside temperature, allowing it to close the windows in time for cool evenings and build up a heat reserve for young crops during the night. At the same time, a reliable clock was essential to adapt to the lighting conditions of different seasons.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Photoshop on Linux?
A developer has patched Wine so that it'll run specific versions of Photoshop that depend on Adobe Creative Cloud.
-
Linux Mint 22.3 Now Available with New Tools
Linux Mint 22.3 has been released with a pair of new tools for system admins and some pretty cool new features.
-
New Linux Malware Targets Cloud-Based Linux Installations
VoidLink, a new Linux malware, should be of real concern because of its stealth and customization.
-
Say Goodbye to Middle-Mouse Paste
Both Gnome and Firefox have proposed getting rid of a long-time favorite Linux feature.
-
Manjaro 26.0 Primary Desktop Environments Default to Wayland
If you want to stick with X.Org, you'll be limited to the desktop environments you can choose.
-
Mozilla Plans to AI-ify Firefox
With a new CEO in control, Mozilla is doubling down on a strategy of trust, all the while leaning into AI.
-
Gnome Says No to AI-Generated Extensions
If you're a developer wanting to create a new Gnome extension, you'd best set aside that AI code generator, because the extension team will have none of that.
-
Parrot OS Switches to KDE Plasma Desktop
Yet another distro is making the move to the KDE Plasma desktop.
-
TUXEDO Announces Gemini 17
TUXEDO Computers has released the fourth generation of its Gemini laptop with plenty of updates.
-
Two New Distros Adopt Enlightenment
MX Moksha and AV Linux 25 join ranks with Bodhi Linux and embrace the Enlightenment desktop.