IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 04 Issue: 04 | Apr-2015, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 755 MECHATRONIC BASED ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND AUTOMATION SYSTEM FOR AGRO INDUSTRIES Nagala Theja 1 , M Giriraj 2 1 Pursuing M.Tech in Mechatronics, VIT University, Vellore, India 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Mechatronics, SMBS, VIT University, Vellore, India Abstract The main aim of this paper is to develop an automation system with energy management capability for agro-based industries using sensors and ZigBee technology. To design an automation system which will monitor the analog parameters and to send these values to the control system where they can be read and control with the set points. If these values exceed their set points, the system will start the controlling devices and set back the exceeded values back to normal. It combines energy management with energy transfer, during power failure by using external batteries. Here ZigBee used to communicate the data wirelessly. The analog parameters like Soil Moisture, Water Level, Temperature, and current flow are measured by the respective sensors and these values are transmitted by the transmitter node. The receiver section is connected to host computer. The PIC based microcontroller receives these values and compares these values with the fixed values and if they exceed the set points, the PIC controller will send commands to controlling devices which will corrects the exceeded values to normal. Keywords: Automation, Energy Management, Moisture Sensor, Level Sensing --------------------------------------------------------------------***-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION Advances in mechatronics technology and in wireless sensor networks have made owning and operating the agro-based industries like Greenhouse, Floriculture, Horticulture, Residential Gardening, and Landscape etc. easier than ever before. Innovations in mechatronics systems can aid the workers in the agro industries by automatically adjusting temperature, humidity, and light intensity within the industry or from a remote location. An automatic control system will improve plant life within the agro industry by providing the suitable condition for plant growth and to producing a more uniform product. Industrial Automation Systems can adjust temperature, adjust humidity and control Light intensity. Greenhouse accessories that were controlled by using industrial automation systems are fans, vents, moisture control systems, heating and cooling systems. 2. EXISTING SYSTEM In olden methods, the industrial parameters are monitored through individual LCD displays. With the help of various sensors, the parameters are sensed and the values are processed by the microcontrollers. Then, the processed values are displayed in the individual LCD displays which are connected to the microcontrollers. For monitoring the parameters in various locations, the individual microcontrollers and LCD displays are required. In case, the sensed parameter value exceeds certain value at the instant of monitoring, the control process will be held by the workers of the industry. Because of monitoring the industrial parameters through individual parameters through individual LCD displays, this method requires more manual power to monitor them continuously. 3. PROPOSED SYSTEM The functional block diagram of the proposed system is given in Figure 1. The sensors are used to monitors the parameters such as soil moisture, water level in the tank and current flow in the industry. The monitoring data from sensors is continuously fed to the PIC microcontroller. The microcontroller is programmed to monitoring these parameters of the industry were come out of the desired values or crosses the safety limit. Then microcontroller generates the control signal to bring back the control parameters to the desired values. All the sensors data and microcontroller data are interconnected to personal computer through ZigBee. A keypad is used to set the desired values of the industry to the microcontroller.