Carbon Neutral Greenhouse: Economic Model Predictive Control Framework for Education

Abstract: This paper presents a comprehensive framework aimed at enhancing education in modeling, optimal control, and nonlinear Model Predictive Control~(MPC) through a practical greenhouse climate control model. The framework includes a detailed mathematical model of lettuce growth and greenhouse, which are influenced by real-time external weather conditions obtained via an application programming interface~(API). Using this data, the MPC-based approach dynamically adjusts greenhouse conditions, optimizing plant growth and energy consumption and minimizing the social cost of CO\textsubscript{2}. The presented results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in balancing energy use with crop yield and reducing CO\textsubscript{2} emissions, contributing to economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Besides optimizing lettuce production, the framework also provides a valuable resource for making control systems education more engaging and effective. The main aim is to provide students with a hands-on platform to understand the principles of modeling, the complexity of MPC and the trade-offs between profitability and sustainability in agricultural systems. This framework provides students with hands-on experience, helping them to understand the control theory better, connecting it to the practical implementation, and developing their problem-solving skills. The framework can be accessed at \url{ecompc4greenhouse.streamlit.app}.