I like plants, I like to be eco-friendly, love electronics, but how can I fit those things together? enters the Smart Modular Watering System.
Using the SparkFun ESP8266 Blynk Board with the Blynk app you can build a system that monitors the level of the water reservoir and will water your plants automatically at the right moment.
It will help you save water!
Data collected from sensors is used to decide when is the right time to water the plants, to send alerts when the water reservoir is low and more:
- Soil moisture sensor: accurately measures the actual soil moisture.
- An ultrasonic distance sensor will measure the level of the water reservoir with good reliability.
- UV sensor data may help deciding whether your plant needs more shadow or direct sunlight.
- Temperature and humidity sensors can also help deciding about critical conditions for your plants.
The Blynk app can be used to monitor in real time the data collected by the sensors:
- Plot the UV index.
- Monitor the water level, temperature, humidity, soil moisture in real time.
- Check the status of the irrigation system (On/Off) - H2O Led.
Some parameters of the system can be modified by using the Blynk app too:
- Water level threshold: if the water level is above¹ this number, the app will send a warning.
- Soil moisture threshold: the system will turn On the irrigation if the current soil moisture is below this number.
- Watering interval (in hours): how often the system will irrigate -if conditions require it-.
- Watering time (in seconds): duration of the irrigation when activated.
¹Please note that the water level sensor measures the distance between the top of the container and the surface of the water. So a higher number means a lower water level.
The Smart Modular Watering System has a very simple implementation, but there is lot of room for improvement. Some other features can be added to the Smart Modular Watering System with some more work, these are just a few examples:
- The UV sensor data can also be used to decide at what times of the day to stop watering. Maybe stop watering at night?
- The data collected can be analyzed to predict the water usage. e.g.: How much water your plants will need before your next trip.
- Add a solar panel, charge your batteries with it and show the world that you care about the Environment!.
- /3D_Models - SketchUp and .STL files
- /ATtiny45_HC-SR04_to_I2C_Source_Code - Source code for the ATtiny45 used to convert the data from ultrasonic distance sensor to I2C.
- /Blynk_Board_Source_Code - Source code for the SparkFun ESP8266 Blynk Board
- /Hardware - Eagle design files: .BRD, .SCH
For more information visit the project page on Hackster.io