ISO/AWI 34713-1
Controlled environment agriculture systems
Part 1: General concepts and control framework
Status
18/03/2026 - New project approved [10.99]
Overview
Overview
This document describes the basic concepts of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems (a term that includes greenhouses), specifies a framework for their control—including functional requirements—and defines the data produced and consumed by these systems.
It is applicable to both soil-based and soilless cultivation systems (e.g., hydroponics) and covers various facility types such as greenhouses and vertical farms. It can also be applied to systems with different levels of automation, ranging from manually operated to fully automated systems.
This document is intended for systems that implement data-driven environmental control, including agricultural automation.
Purpose and Justification
This document establishes a standardized framework for controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems, defining key concepts, functional requirements, and data elements to enable intelligent, data-driven environmental control that improves crop productivity, resource efficiency, and sustainability across diverse cultivation facilities.
A standardized framework for CEA systems is essential because the industry currently lacks consistent definitions, functional requirements, and data structures. Without such a standard, systems remain incompatible, difficult to integrate, and inefficient in managing key environmental factors, leading to resource waste, higher operational costs, and inconsistent crop performance.
Global studies highlight the urgency of this issue. In many greenhouse and vertical farming operations, environmental control functions such as HVAC and lighting account for 60–70% of total energy consumption, making system inefficiencies costly and unsustainable. Research also shows that deviations in temperature, humidity, or lighting conditions can reduce yields by 10–30%, depending on the crop. Conversely, facilities adopting data-driven and automated control have demonstrated 20–40% reductions in water use and meaningful gains in energy efficiency. These improvements, however, depend on interoperable data models and standardized system interfaces—elements that are currently absent in the industry.
By establishing harmonized requirements and data structures, this standard will reduce integration barriers between sensors, controllers, and management platforms, support reliable automation, and enhance the scalability and sustainability of CEA systems worldwide.
Convenor, AHG 3: Greenhouse & controlled environment automation