Constructing a Greenhouse Window :: Papers

Constructing a Greenhouse Window Building and testing a sensor to determine number of degrees to which a window is open Introduction When making use of a greenhouse to grow plants out of season or on a large scale for commercial reasons, the temperature within the green house must be carefully regulated, in order to ensure that the plants are under the optimum growing conditions. With the windows shut permanently, the temperature may become too high, and the windows need therefore to be opened. This will allow the temperature to drop back to the correct level. Different numbers of degrees to which the window is open have different cooling effects. For example, if the window is open by 50 degrees, then there is probably a more rapid cooling effect upon the greenhouse than if the window was 10 degrees open. Thus, it is important to know how many degrees the window on a greenhouse is open. It could however be very time consuming for people to check the greenhouse(s) manually, or particularly problematic if the temperature should become a problem during unsociable hours. It would be extremely useful, then, if a sensor could be attached to the windows of a greenhouse, and a reading sent back to a control room as to how open the windows are. Someone could then either use a motor attached to the window to alter the setting, or adjust the window manually. My sensor could be used in conjunction with a number of other sensors, e.g. temperature sensors and moisture sensors, to send all the required reading back to a control room, thus allowing the control of the climate within in the greenhouse to be totally automated. [IMAGE] Text Box: Windows need to be opened and closed according to temperature [IMAGE] Above: a typical greenhouse Alex Furber 12HW Sensing Project 20-02-02 PLAN There a number of ways in which a sensor could be built to measure the angle at which a window is open.