Your Smart IOT

IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

We all have at some point of life desired to control everything at the click of a button. May it be turning off unnecessary lights when you ...

<p>We all have at some point of life desired to control everything at the click of a button. May it be turning off unnecessary lights when you are not at home to detecting intruders when you are not around. This tutorial will guide you to build a simple <a href="http://bit.ly/1WT6RcI" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Raspberry Pi GPIO Pins and Python"><strong>raspberry</strong></a> pi home automation system that will allow you to control appliances in your home from anywhere in the world. And it will also allow you to view data from the PIR motion sensor via the internet to detect intruders. This project will be using platforms like the Raspberry Pi, IBM’s IoTF (Internet of Things Foundation) and Bluemix packages. And can be used as a perfect project to get into the world of Internet of Things. So lets get started!</p>
<p>What are the stuff required to do this project?</p>
<p>Hardware:</p>
<p>Raspberry Pi 2 / B+.<br />
USB wifi dongle.<br />
USB keyboard and mouse.<br />
HDMI monitor and cable.<br />
Micro USB power adapter (smartphone charger).<br />
PIR motion sensor.<br />
Male-female and male-male jumpers.<br />
Breadboard.<br />
BC547 transistor.<br />
5V SPDT relay and 1n4001 diode.<br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/1WT6RcH" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="LED"><strong>LED</strong></a> and 220Ohm resistor.<br />
Software:</p>
<p>Raspbian OS</p>
<p>How does it work?</p>
<p>If you are a beginner to Raspberry Pi, you can always use our free eBook to learn how to setup the pi and Raspbian OS. The Raspberry Pi home automation system uses client and server side <a href="http://bit.ly/1TqSFlj" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="python"><strong>python</strong></a> scripts. These can communicate with each other through IBM’s IoTF platform. This whole Internet of Things project can be divided into two parts:</p>
<p>1. Sending commands to the Raspberry Pi<br />
The server side script running on our laptop or on a web server takes input commands from the user and correspondingly sends it to the client (Raspberry Pi). Here, we will be using commands to turn a <a href="http://bit.ly/1VNpzU4" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="light"><strong>light</strong></a> ON/OFF. When we pass the command to turn ON a light through the server side script, the information is relayed to the Raspberry Pi and it’s <a href="http://bit.ly/26nCnnf" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="GPIO"><strong>GPIO</strong></a> pin turns ON a relay. The system also sends status updates to the server on whether the light is ON/OFF. 2. Receiving data from the Raspberry Pi<br />
In case of sending data from the PIR motion sensor connected to the Raspberry Pi, we run a script which reads the sensor through a GPIO pin and broadcasts the data through the IoTF platform. This can then be viewed through the IoTF console or through a custom web application designed using the platform.</p>
<p>A few quick reads that will help you before you get started:</p>
<p>The concepts of using IBM IoTF http://bit.ly/1sdzFkA<br />
Creating applications using bluemix: documentation.<br />
Interfacing Raspberry Pi with an accelerometer sensor: IBM blog.<br />
Step 1: Testing IBM IoTF using a simulator<br />
First you need to sign up for a one month free trial account from IBM:http://bit.ly/1Z45ff1. You can do that by going here. Next you need to log into: IBM IoTF page with the credentials you just created. And then you need to click on “Quickstart” from the above menu. Next, click on: “Find out more” from the “Don’t have a device?” section:<br />
Then from the new window that pops up, follow the instructions to setup the simulator or just click this link: “http://bit.ly/1sdzYvL“.</p>
<p>This simulator acts like the data coming from your Raspberry Pi or any other connected device, it simulates data like: temperature, humidity, etc. The simulator open up in a new tab and looks like a smartphone application:</p>
<p>Next, copy the MAC address from the top right corner of the simulator. Here, in this example it is: DD:2D:36:E1:C0:17. Now, paste this MAC address on the IoTF quickstart page: http://bit.ly/1Z45ff1 or just click on the MAC address itself. You can see the data coming from the simulator in this new tab in the form of a graph. Now go back to the simulator and click on the UP/DOWN arrows on it to increase/decrease the value of temperature. And you will get to see that the graph on the quickstart page updates accordingly, and at the bottom of the page you will see the current value of temperature you have set.<br />
Step 2: Adding the Raspberry Pi to IBM IoTF</p>
<p>The next step is to add our Raspberry Pi device to IBM IoTF platform, so that it can recognise it. In order to do this, you need to create a device ID for the pi. To do that, check the instructions on this page under the heading: “Connect (Quickstart)“: http://ibm.co/1Z44ylW. After installing the packages using the commands on the instructions page, find the device ID of your pi using this command in the terminal:<br />
“service iot getdeviceid”. Note down the device ID.</p>
<p>Next log into the Bluemix console: http://bit.ly/1sdztlo then click on “Add Service” or “Use Service”.</p>
<p>After that scroll down to find and select the “Internet of Things” boilerplate or icon.</p>
<p>Next, assign a name for this project and click “Create”.</p>
<p>Now from the new page, click on “Launch Dashboard”. And follow the steps below.</p>
<p>FYI – From next time onwards, you can just log into the IoTF page and click on the top right account section. A dropdown will come up, from there you will see “My organizations”. Click on the that,which will take you to a new page.</p>
<p>Now, after launching the dashboard, select “Devices” from the above tabs. Then click on “+Add Device” from the page. Fill in the name of your device (anything that you want to name it) and then enter the device ID you got from the earlier steps. After doing this, you will get a Token id, please note it down or take a screenshot of the window. You will be using this Token id to create a configuration file.</p>
<p>Now, you can view the data coming from your pi (CPU temperature, etc) when you enter the device ID of your pi on the quickstart page. And you can also see it from the “Devices” section on your account page. Just click on the “+” symbol in the “Last Event” column to view the incoming data. Click on each of them, to see the data in detail:<br />
Next you have to follow the steps listed under the heading: “Connect (Registered)” on this page: http://ibm.co/1Z44ylW. This will initialise your Raspberry Pi with details like Organization id, Device id, Token, etc so that we can communicate with it through other applications.</p>
<p>Step 3: Get the API key<br />
Now you need to create an API key for the Raspberry Pi, so that we can read data from it through other external applications. Click on the “API Keys” tab on your organisation page and click on “New API Key”. Note down the key and authentication token that is generated, this will be shown only one time, so note it down or take a picture.</p>
<p>Step 4: Assembling the components together for the Raspberry Pi home automation system</p>
<p>Based on the above connection diagram, connect the components for the Raspberry Pi home automation system. You can learn more about connecting relays here, if you are a beginner. And you can find the pin out for the BC547 transistor here. Also, check out the pin out for the Raspberry Pi here. You can connect the appliance you wish to control to the relay as shown above. One line of the light/bulb should be connected directly to power and the other line through the relay. You can use the relay guide link given above as a guide. We are using mainly three GPIO pins, which are used as follows:</p>
<p>GPIO pin 3: To provide the control signal to BC547 which in turn activates the relay.<br />
GPIO pin 7: To monitor the status (ON/OFF) of the appliance connected to the relay.<br />
GPIO pin 11: To provide the status for intruder detection via the PIR motion sensor (0/1).<br />
Step 5: Setting up the client and server side <a href="http://bit.ly/1UhAZOh" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="How to Build a Basic Web Crawler in Python"><strong>python</strong></a> scripts for the Raspberry Pi home automation system<br />
You can clone or download the python scripts for this project from here:http://bit.ly/1sdAbPi. But, please note that you have to edit both these scripts with your organisation/device details. Next, log into your Raspberry Pi and open the terminal and follow these steps:</p>
<p>cd /home/pi<br />
git clone http://bit.ly/1sdAbPi</p>
<p>client1.py<br />
The git clone will copy the folder “IoT” from github to the pi. Next, you need to go inside that folder and edit the python script called: “client1.py”. You can use the nano editor within the terminal to add the details about your organization, deviceType, etc. So do the following commands:</p>
<p>cd /home/pi/IoT<br />
nano client1.py</p>
<p>Go to the lines in the editor which asks for organization id, device type, etc and fill in the details. You can view these details by using this command in a new terminal window:</p>
<p>service iot getdeviceid</p>
<p>After updating your client1.py python script with all the information,</p>
<p>server1.py<br />
next we need to do the same for the server1.py script. So open your laptop and clone the code files (git clonehttps://github.com/DIYhacking/IoT.git or just download it from the link) and open the editor for server1.py and add all the details about the organization, etc just like earlier for the pi. But, here there is an additional information that needs to be filled in. You also have to fill in the details of the API key (authkey and authtoken). You can get this information from Step3.</p>
<p>After performing the above steps, next we need to install the python IoTF packages for running the server1.py script on the laptop/webserver. To install that, perform this command:</p>
<p>pip install ibmiotf</p>
<p>You also need to check if your system has “pip” installed, if it isn’t you need to install it based on your OS.</p>
<p>For linux–> sudo apt-get install python-pip<br />
For mac–> sudo easy_install pip<br />
For windows–> Check this tutorial.</p>
<p>Step 6: Running and executing the Raspberry Pi home automation system<br />
Finally, we can execute the system for running our raspberry pi home automation project. Follow the instructions for executing and viewing the output here:</p>
<p>First we need to stop the default IoT service running on the pi, use this command to do that:<br />
sudo service iot stopNext, run the script on the pi using:<br />
sudo python client1.pyAnd then from the laptop, run the server side script:<br />
sudo python server1.py</p>
<p>We will be able to do two things with this system:</p>
<p>See whether there are any intruders using the PIR motion sensor and check whether a light is ON/OFF from a internet connected device.<br />
Control an appliance/light using a remote device connected to the internet.<br />
1. Checking the PIR motion sensor data and light status sent from the Raspberry Pi</p>
<p>Here we are following the same steps we used in Step 2. To do this, log into your IBM IoTF account using the same link we used earlier: http://bit.ly/1Z45hn4. Next, click on your account section on the top right corner and click on your organization (check out the pictures in Step2). Then, click on the “Devices” tab and next on the “+” symbol in the “Last Event” column. You will see the data being updated and on click each of those data rows, you can see the data in detail, showing the Light and Intruder status (0/1) from the Raspberry Pi home automation system:</p>
<p>2. Controlling an appliance by turning it ON/OFF using the server side script</p>
<p>Now execute your server side python script on your laptop. You can use the command:<br />
sudo python server1.pyThis script will then ask for commands, like so:</p>
<p>You can use two commands to control a lamp:<br />
To turn it ON: lighton<br />
To turn it OFF: lightoff</p>
<p>Type in “lighton” and hit enter, you will see that in a few seconds the relay and LED connected to the Raspberry Pi home automation system gets activated. Whatever appliance you had connected to the relay will be turned ON. And on the terminal of your laptop you will see the data generated from the Raspberry Pi like in the picture above.<br />
Next, enter the command “lightoff” to disable the relay and LED and correspondingly your appliance turns OFF.</p>
<p>Potentially, you can create a webpage and a HTML button and run this script when the button is clicked to control appliances through online webpages. Check out python and HTML integration to do that. And you will be able to control appliances in your home from any part of the world.So thats it guys, I hope you guys come up with really cool project ideas to make use of this powerful platform from IBM. And you can post your suggestions and queries in the comments section below <img alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" src="http://bit.ly/1VNqWSO" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Now check out a video showing the demo of the raspberry pi home automation system:</p>
<p><iframe width="678" height="381" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8xS8cP-PWM8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p> </p>
<div id="huge-it-share-buttons-top" class="huge-it-share-buttons nobackground">
<h3>Share This:</h3>
<ul class="huge-it-share-buttons-list">
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1XReO0c" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1XReO0c','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -0px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=IOT%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -30px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z44GBT%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z44GBT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -60px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1XReO0d" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1XReO0d','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -90px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z45dDV%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX&mini=true&url=http://bit.ly/1XReO0g" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z45dDV BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX&mini=true&url=http://bit.ly/1XReO0g','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -120px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z44YsB%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z44YsB BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -150px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://di.gg/1sdzkyb%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://di.gg/1sdzkyb BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -180px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://stumble.it/1Z45jeP%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://stumble.it/1Z45jeP BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -210px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1XReO0l" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1XReO0l','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -240px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z45dni%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z45dni BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -270px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1sdzmWR%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1sdzmWR BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -300px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1VNpzTU" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1VNpzTU','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -330px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1sdzlCd%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1sdzlCd BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -360px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1VNpzTX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1VNpzTX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -390px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1sdziX5%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1sdziX5 BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -420px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z44h2d%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX&pic=&ralateUid=&" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z44h2d BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX&pic=&ralateUid=&','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -450px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1sdzllL%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1sdzllL BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -480px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://bit.ly/1Z44PVW%20BASED%20RASPBERRY%20PI%20HOME%20AUTOMATION%20USING%20IBM%20BLUEMIX" id="backforunical739" name="backforunical739" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://bit.ly/1Z44PVW BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -510px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
View more at: <a href="http://bit.ly/1XReQFr">http://bit.ly/1XReQFr</a>

IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX

We all have at some point of life desired to control everything at the click of a button. May it be turning off unnecessary lights when you ...

IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

We all have at some point of life desired to control everything at the click of a button. May it be turning off unnecessary lights when you ...

IOT BASED RASPBERRY PI HOME AUTOMATION USING IBM BLUEMIX

We all have at some point of life desired to control everything at the click of a button. May it be turning off unnecessary lights when you ...

Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants

Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Gardening improves health and quality of life, connecting us to our local environment. Plus, you can eat organic fruits and veggies at very ...

<p>Gardening improves health and quality of life, connecting us to our local environment. Plus, you can eat organic fruits and veggies at very little cost. Yet for all these fantastic benefits, remembering to water can still take a backseat to our busy lives. Fortunately, home automation is easier than ever with inexpensive and accessible microcontrollers like the <a href="http://ift.tt/iRv29v" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Raspberry Pi</a> and <a href="http://arduino.cc/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Arduino</a>.</p>
<p>This tutorial details the construction process for a remotely controlled solenoid irrigation valve. In other words, a home computer controls the water flow of an outdoor hose spigot, or bib. The materials cost is about $30-40, excluding the Raspberry Pi (RPi). Cheaper parts can be found with patience and creativity.</p>
<p>The design is intended as a simple introduction to building a complete, personalized home irrigation system. It is also intended to encourage simple DIY solutions to everyday problems. Make modifications and upgrades to suit your needs, resources, and skill level. To conserve water, include drip irrigation and a<a href="http://ift.tt/WVWBoj" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">soil moisture sensor</a>.</p>
<p><u>Note: This project involves high voltage which requires extreme caution. Always check power connections before touching exposed wires.</u></p>
<h2 id="step1" class="step-title">Step 1: Materials</h2>
<div id="photoset-SIRO7H0HZZRDFLC" class="photoset" data-item-id="SIRO7H0HZZRDFLC" data-item-url="http://ift.tt/1SCTbws">
<div class="photoset-row cols-1">
<div class="photoset-cell image-cell">
<div class="photoset-item photoset-image"><a class="photoset-link" data-fancybox-group="photoset-gallery-SIRO7H0HZZRDFLC" data-fancybox-href="http://ift.tt/1SCTcAA" href="http://ift.tt/1VbHMK3" target="_blank"><img alt="Picture of Materials" data-image-id="FA20S0WI0LCOO0B" data-large="http://ift.tt/1SCTcAA" data-medium="http://ift.tt/1VbHKSx" data-notes="[]" data-orig-height="1072" data-orig-width="1136" data-original="http://ift.tt/1VbHKSx" data-original-image="http://ift.tt/1SCTcAC" data-pin-no-hover="true" data-small="http://ift.tt/1VbHMK8" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHKSx" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="step-body">
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTbwy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Raspberry Pi 2 Model B</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHL8M" width="1" />, <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTcAE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GPIO Cable</a> <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHL8P" width="1" />, <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTcQU" target="_blank">GPIO cable adapter + breadboard</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0o" width="1" /></strong><u><strong><br /></strong></u></p>
<p>This tutorial assumes the RPi has all <a href="http://ift.tt/MJDb9S" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GPIO libraries</a>. To install outdoors, the RPi also needs a WiFi adapter and to be accessible by <a href="http://ift.tt/1CmEdHi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SSH</a> or other remote login.</p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTes0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">24 VAC Solenoid Valve 1″</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0s" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p>This tutorial uses a <strong>24 VAC solenoid</strong> for a 3/4″ hose spigot.</p>
<p><em>Some background: there are two main types of solenoids: AC or DC.</em></p>
<p><em>An AC solenoid valve turns water on when voltage is applied, and turns it off when the power is off. The drawback is that it uses AC voltage, requiring an adapter to convert the wall voltage, 120 VAC, into the 24 VAC voltage needed to trigger the valve. Outdoor Installation likely requires an extension cord.<br /></em></p>
<p><em>A DC solenoid valve allows for a battery powered system. It can easily be modified to be wireless and powered by renewable energy using a medium solar panel (~10 W). However, most DC irrigation valves are <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTcQY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">latching solenoids</a> and require switching the valve lead <a href="http://ift.tt/1boXSoZ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">polarity</a> to turn water on and off.</em></p>
<p><em>I chose an AC valve for the first prototype because I already had a few parts.. and adequate rechargeable batteries can be expensive.</em></p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTes2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Solid State Relay</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHL8T" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p>The Solid State Relay, or relay, is the intermediary switch between the RPi and the solenoid valve. This tutorial uses a Crouzet Model OAC5-315; its input is 3 – 8 VDC and its output is between 24 – 120 VAC at 1A.</p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTes4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2N3904 NPN Transistor</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0w" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTcR4" target="_blank">4.7 kOhm Resistor</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0o" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0y" target="_blank">PCB Board</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0o" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p>Sized to fit the relay, <a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPAjr" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="GPIO"><strong>GPIO</strong></a> pins, transistor and resistor.</p>
<p><strong>— <a href="http://ift.tt/1VbHL8Y" target="_blank">120 VAC to 24 VAC power adapter</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0o" width="1" /></strong></p>
<p>Use an extension cord and/or longer leads to install outdoors.</p>
<p><strong>— 22-gauge stranded wire (insulated), min. 10 feet</strong><u><br /></u></p>
<p><strong>— Waterproof container</strong></p>
<p>I used a leftover <a href="http://ift.tt/1SCTesa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Waterproof Project Case</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ift.tt/1VbHN0A" width="1" /> wrapped with waterproof tape. Cheap/free containers are easy to find; Talenti ice cream containers are an example, and also happen to contain delicious ice cream. With small containers, be sure exposed AC connections are completely covered in epoxy to protect the RPi.</p>
<p><strong>— Optional: Waterproof connectors, waterproofing tape/lots of duct tape</strong></p>
</div>
<div id="huge-it-share-buttons-top" class="huge-it-share-buttons nobackground">
<h3>Share This:</h3>
<ul class="huge-it-share-buttons-list">
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -0px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Raspberry%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -30px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8jvd%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8jvd Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -60px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -90px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1H4sMpI%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1H4sMpI Pi Irrigation Controller&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -120px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8jvf%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8jvf Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -150px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPAQn%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1WLPAQn Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -180px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8gPS%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8gPS Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -210px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -240px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPAQr%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1WLPAQr Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -270px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8gPU%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8gPU Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -300px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -330px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPAQt%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1WLPAQt Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -360px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -390px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8jvh%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8jvh Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -420px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPCrs%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller&pic=&ralateUid=&" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1WLPCrs Pi Irrigation Controller&pic=&ralateUid=&','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -450px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LK8gPW%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LK8gPW Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -480px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1WLPAQv%20Pi%20Irrigation%20Controller" id="backforunical416" name="backforunical416" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1WLPAQv Pi Irrigation Controller','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -510px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
View more at: <a href="http://yoursmart.mobi/">http://yoursmart.mobi</a>

Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller

Gardening improves health and quality of life, connecting us to our local environment. Plus, you can eat organic fruits and veggies at very ...

Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues. As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied succ...

<p><em>Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues.</em> As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied success; my issue has been remembering to water the poor things. So after countless disappointing harvests, I decided to monitor my chilli plants and automate their care as much as I could by using cheap, off the shelf components. This post will detail my experiments with electronics, APIs and the <a href="http://ift.tt/13W6Isy" target="_blank" title="Server Density monitoring tool">Server Density monitoring tool</a>.</p>
<h2>Chilli <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJ7J" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Irrigation"><strong>Irrigation</strong></a> System</h2>
<p>My first step was to set up the technology behind the components, for this I needed a <a href="http://ift.tt/iRv29v" target="_blank" title="Visit the Raspberry Pi homepage">Raspberry Pi</a> and an <a href="http://arduino.cc/" target="_blank" title="Visit the Arduino website">Arduino board</a>. The Raspberry Pi to connect the <a href="http://ift.tt/1pCdnqV" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino"><strong>Arduino</strong></a> to my network, and the <a href="http://ift.tt/25oS3pH" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino"><strong>Arduino</strong></a> to add analog inputs to the setup (which the Pi is unable to do). Although there are <a href="http://ift.tt/PamYLx" target="_blank" title="Making Raspberry Pi analog">converters and hacks</a> to give the Pi an analog reading, none of them seemed 100% reliable and I had an Arduino Nano spare.</p>
<p>Server Density don’t currently have a packaged agent for the Raspberry Pi but as it’s Python, you can easily clone the source from <a href="http://ift.tt/1Jlp4ZZ" target="_blank" title="Github">Github</a> or download it from <a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyR" target="_blank" title="Agent">Server Density</a>.</p>
<p>Once I did that, it was time to have a look at the basic sensors I was able to attach to the <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo0" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino board"><strong>Arduino board</strong></a>, that would help to prolong the life and improve the yield of my plants:</p>
<ul>
<li>Temperature – averaged from the humidity and pressure sensors</li>
<li>Humidity – detect water vapour level in the air</li>
<li>Moisture – two prong sensor embedded into the soil and into the water reservoir</li>
<li>Light – light dependent resistor</li>
<li>Pressure – barometric air pressure (not directly related to plant health but fun to graph)</li>
</ul>
<p>When I started I had little experience with electronics and Arduino boards, luckily there are a lot of very simple guides available for using each of the sensors – <a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyT" target="_blank" title="Simple guides for Arduino sensors">let me Google that for you</a>. I was able to mount the Arduino directly into the breadboard to make it easier to connect up the sensors. Below is a close up of the board:</p>
<p><img alt="Automatic Plant Watering System" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3917" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo4" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyX 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AJo6 404w, http://ift.tt/1S5tjyZ 1000w" width="100%" /></p>
<p><img alt="Nano Close Up" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3907" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo8" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tjz1 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIAx 1024w, http://ift.tt/1S5tlXI 266w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>The Arduino connects to the Raspberry Pi via USB and sends the data back over serial in a JSON string. The cable powers the board and provides a serial link to allow the data to come back from the sensors. A plugin then runs in the <a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuCW" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Server"><strong>Server</strong></a> Density agent which reads the serial device until a complete set of readings is received (or 20 seconds is exceeded) – then the PI’s WiFi dongle allows it report the data back to Server Density for<a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjz5" target="_blank" title="Server Density Monitoring Graphs">graphing</a>.</p>
<p><img alt="Monitoring a Chilli Plant" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3918" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AIAz" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tme0 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIAD 443w, http://ift.tt/1S5tjz8 1000w" width="100%" /></p>
<h2>Full setup:</h2>
<h3>Plants</h3>
<p><img alt="monitoring chilli plants" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3911" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJog" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tme6 313w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIR0 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>Once the basic monitoring was in place and working reliably I added a pump to <a href="http://ift.tt/1UDKUyD" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="How to automatically water your plants with the Raspberry Pi"><strong>automatically</strong></a> water my chilli plants. It would draw water from a reservoir, that holds roughly a litre of water. From this point, I wanted the following to happen:</p>
<ol>
<li>When the soil becomes too dry, the pump is triggered.</li>
<li>Once the water level is too low in the reservoir, I get an email alert from Server Density.</li>
<li>I fill the reservoir back up.</li>
</ol>
<p>So far this has worked very well despite some early issues with pump performance. The pump is cheap kids kit from Maplin as luckily it fitted the pipes I had.</p>
<h3>Seedbox</h3>
<p>I purchased some <a href="http://ift.tt/1caWF8K" target="_blank" title="Bhut Jolokia">bhut jolokia</a> peppers and removed the seeds to grow my own plants. With a few failed attempts with seeds already, I set out to monitor as much as possible. Using a basic incubator box I added light and temperature sensors inside and out, along with 2 moisture probes in the soil. I also added an LCD panel so I could view the internal settings at a glance.</p>
<h3>Basic Environment Monitor</h3>
<p>I decided to extend the monitoring to the basic environment my chillies were in. I had a spare temperature and light sensor which I hooked up to a Arduino Nano clone. With minimal code I was able to create a basic set of sensors connected to an old laptop. The laptop has the Server Density agent running and using a plugin reports the output back for graphing. The Nano I used is a Chinese clone from eBay of the <a href="http://ift.tt/sKuSdd" target="_blank" title="Nano">Arduino</a>. It needed the headers soldering and the bootloader to be installed, but at £4.50 instead of £20 (ish) for a genuine board, it was worth the effort.</p>
<p><img alt="Arduino board" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3912" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AIR2" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tme8 300w, http://ift.tt/1SCTbfW 329w, http://ift.tt/1S5tmea 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>Once the headers were soldered on, I installed the bootloader using <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEx" target="_blank" title="avrdude">this</a>. It didn’t work initially, but after dropping <code>-U flash:w:blink.hex"</code> from the command:</p>
<div id="crayon-5706894a3cfbe306235200" class="crayon-syntax crayon-theme-classic crayon-font-monaco crayon-os-pc print-yes notranslate" data-settings=" minimize scroll-mouseover">
<div class="crayon-plain-wrap"></div>
<div class="crayon-main">
<table class="crayon-table">
<tbody>
<tr class="crayon-row">
<td class="crayon-nums" data-settings="show"></td>
<td class="crayon-code">
<div class="crayon-pre">
<div id="crayon-5706894a3cfbe306235200-1" class="crayon-line"><span class="crayon-v">avrdude</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">c</span> <span class="crayon-v">arduino</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">b</span> <span class="crayon-cn">57600</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">P</span> <span class="crayon-o">/</span><span class="crayon-v">dev</span><span class="crayon-o">/</span><span class="crayon-v">tty</span><span class="crayon-sy">.</span><span class="crayon-v">usbserial</span><span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">A501S641</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">p</span> <span class="crayon-v">atmega328p</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">vv</span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<p><em>(N.b. Connecting to the board required the latest <a href="http://ift.tt/Pkbed9" target="_blank" title="ftdi drivers">ftdi</a> drivers for my Mac.)</em></p>
<p><img alt="server density monitoring" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3913" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEB" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tmec 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AJED 451w, http://ift.tt/1S5tmee 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>PC with light and temperature sensors reporting to Server Density</p>
<p>Again, I started these fairly basic projects with no real background in electronics, and owe a great deal to some of the excellent tutorials available. All of the parts were bought from eBay mostly for less than £2.</p>
<h3>Light Dependent Resistor</h3>
<p>For light measuring I used a basic LDR connected to the analog input on the Nano. With help of <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEF" target="_blank" title="Lux conversion">this post</a> I was able to convert the analog 0 to 1024 value into lux. It’s an approximate measurement but close enough for this project.</p>
<h3>Pressure Sensor BMP085</h3>
<p>The BMP085 is a great little board that contains a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. It must be connected to the analog pins 4 an 5 on the Nano to work correctly. Adafruit have a great <a href="http://ift.tt/17bYlJ7" target="_blank" title="BMP085">tutorial</a> for setting it up, again a simple case of hooking up power and the signal connections. Using the pressure reading and the temperature it’s possible to calculate your current altitude with your current sea level pressure but that was a bit beyond what I needed.</p>
<h3>Soil Moisture Hygrometer</h3>
<p>I used a basic <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AIRg" target="_blank" title="Hygrometer">sensor</a>, a simple two pronged device that is pushed into soil. This model has an LED on it as well that is either red for dry or green for moist. You can use it either analog or digital mode. I used analog and connected directly to the analog port on the Nano.</p>
<h3>Humidity  DHT22</h3>
<p>This gives the percentage of water in the air using this <a href="http://ift.tt/1dtFDoP" target="_blank" title="DHTLib">guide</a>. It also has a temperate sensor which I average with the temperature from the BMP085.</p>
<h3>Sound LM393 Electret Microphone</h3>
<p>I am waiting for this to arrive. Noise was the last aspect of the environment I could think of to measure. I am hoping to adapt <a href="http://ift.tt/NGXqxi" target="_blank" title="Microphone">this</a> to read the decibel level and log it.</p>
<h3>Improvements</h3>
<p>The main limiting factor at the moment is the Arduino board needs to be connected to some thing with a network connection. Ideally I would like to build in some wireless protocol so the boards could be placed anywhere.<a href="http://ift.tt/HQ0IqL" target="_blank" title="Xbee">Xbee</a> looks like a valid solution but each transmitter costs twice as much as all the sensors and Nano board combined!</p>
<p>Monitoring soil PH is another sensor I am investigating. I have bought <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMI" target="_blank" title="Soil PH">this</a>, a basic soil monitor and am hoping I can take it apart and log the soil PH values.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading. It’s been really fun experimenting with our software outside of the realms of infrastructure – it’s incredible how important and useful monitoring can be and how available the technology is to buy now. It’s also proven to be a rather addictive hobby – so there’s plans to keep on monitoring and I’ll keep you posted on how we get on! In the meantime, what are you monitoring with your server density account that isn’t a website or server?</p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/14ErcuO" target="_blank" title="Light Sensor">http://ift.tt/14ErcuO</a> Light Sensor</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1lGOfYO" target="_blank" title="Liquid Crystal Display">http://ift.tt/1lGOfYO</a> Liquid Crystal Display</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPA" target="_blank" title="DHT 22">http://ift.tt/1S5tjPA</a> DHT 22</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1eBOlLE" target="_blank" title="BMP 085">http://ift.tt/1eBOlLE</a> BMP 085</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tmuw" target="_blank" title="Water Pump">http://ift.tt/1S5tmuw</a> Water Pump</li>
</ul>
<div id="huge-it-share-buttons-top" class="huge-it-share-buttons nobackground">
<h3>Share This:</h3>
<ul class="huge-it-share-buttons-list">
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -0px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Automatically%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -30px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEN%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJEN watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -60px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -90px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tmuy%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tmuy watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -120px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALwk%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALwk watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -150px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPB%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tjPB watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -180px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJV4%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJV4 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -210px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -240px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPD%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tjPD watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -270px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJV6%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJV6 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -300px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -330px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk5T%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk5T watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -360px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -390px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMU%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALMU watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -420px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk5X%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks&pic=&ralateUid=&" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk5X watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks&pic=&ralateUid=&','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -450px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMW%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALMW watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -480px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk60%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk60 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -510px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
View more at: <a href="http://yoursmart.mobi/">http://yoursmart.mobi</a>

Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks

Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues. As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied succ...

Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Build a Raspberry Pi Moisture Sensor to Monitor Your Plants

Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Gardening improves health and quality of life, connecting us to our local environment. Plus, you can eat organic fruits and veggies at very ...

Raspberry Pi Irrigation Controller

Gardening improves health and quality of life, connecting us to our local environment. Plus, you can eat organic fruits and veggies at very ...

Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks

Wall's Corners

Link Author

Title: Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks
Author: Wall's Corners
Rating 5 of 5 Des:

Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues. As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied succ...

<p><em>Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues.</em> As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied success; my issue has been remembering to water the poor things. So after countless disappointing harvests, I decided to monitor my chilli plants and automate their care as much as I could by using cheap, off the shelf components. This post will detail my experiments with electronics, APIs and the <a href="http://ift.tt/13W6Isy" target="_blank" title="Server Density monitoring tool">Server Density monitoring tool</a>.</p>
<h2>Chilli <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJ7J" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Irrigation"><strong>Irrigation</strong></a> System</h2>
<p>My first step was to set up the technology behind the components, for this I needed a <a href="http://ift.tt/iRv29v" target="_blank" title="Visit the Raspberry Pi homepage">Raspberry Pi</a> and an <a href="http://arduino.cc/" target="_blank" title="Visit the Arduino website">Arduino board</a>. The Raspberry Pi to connect the <a href="http://ift.tt/25oS3pH" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino"><strong>Arduino</strong></a> to my network, and the <a href="http://ift.tt/1pCdnqV" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino"><strong>Arduino</strong></a> to add analog inputs to the setup (which the Pi is unable to do). Although there are <a href="http://ift.tt/PamYLx" target="_blank" title="Making Raspberry Pi analog">converters and hacks</a> to give the Pi an analog reading, none of them seemed 100% reliable and I had an Arduino Nano spare.</p>
<p>Server Density don’t currently have a packaged agent for the Raspberry Pi but as it’s Python, you can easily clone the source from <a href="http://ift.tt/1Jlp4ZZ" target="_blank" title="Github">Github</a> or download it from <a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyR" target="_blank" title="Agent">Server Density</a>.</p>
<p>Once I did that, it was time to have a look at the basic sensors I was able to attach to the <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo0" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Arduino board"><strong>Arduino board</strong></a>, that would help to prolong the life and improve the yield of my plants:</p>
<ul>
<li>Temperature – averaged from the humidity and pressure sensors</li>
<li>Humidity – detect water vapour level in the air</li>
<li>Moisture – two prong sensor embedded into the soil and into the water reservoir</li>
<li>Light – light dependent resistor</li>
<li>Pressure – barometric air pressure (not directly related to plant health but fun to graph)</li>
</ul>
<p>When I started I had little experience with electronics and Arduino boards, luckily there are a lot of very simple guides available for using each of the sensors – <a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyT" target="_blank" title="Simple guides for Arduino sensors">let me Google that for you</a>. I was able to mount the Arduino directly into the breadboard to make it easier to connect up the sensors. Below is a close up of the board:</p>
<p><img alt="Automatic Plant Watering System" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3917" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo4" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tjyX 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AJo6 404w, http://ift.tt/1S5tjyZ 1000w" width="100%" /></p>
<p><img alt="Nano Close Up" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3907" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJo8" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tjz1 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIAx 1024w, http://ift.tt/1S5tlXI 266w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>The Arduino connects to the Raspberry Pi via USB and sends the data back over serial in a JSON string. The cable powers the board and provides a serial link to allow the data to come back from the sensors. A plugin then runs in the <a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuCW" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="Server"><strong>Server</strong></a> Density agent which reads the serial device until a complete set of readings is received (or 20 seconds is exceeded) – then the PI’s WiFi dongle allows it report the data back to Server Density for<a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjz5" target="_blank" title="Server Density Monitoring Graphs">graphing</a>.</p>
<p><img alt="Monitoring a Chilli Plant" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3918" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AIAz" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tme0 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIAD 443w, http://ift.tt/1S5tjz8 1000w" width="100%" /></p>
<h2>Full setup:</h2>
<h3>Plants</h3>
<p><img alt="monitoring chilli plants" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3911" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJog" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tme6 313w, http://ift.tt/1q9AIR0 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>Once the basic monitoring was in place and working reliably I added a pump to <a href="http://ift.tt/1UDKUyD" itemprop="url" target="_bank" title="How to automatically water your plants with the Raspberry Pi"><strong>automatically</strong></a> water my chilli plants. It would draw water from a reservoir, that holds roughly a litre of water. From this point, I wanted the following to happen:</p>
<ol>
<li>When the soil becomes too dry, the pump is triggered.</li>
<li>Once the water level is too low in the reservoir, I get an email alert from Server Density.</li>
<li>I fill the reservoir back up.</li>
</ol>
<p>So far this has worked very well despite some early issues with pump performance. The pump is cheap kids kit from Maplin as luckily it fitted the pipes I had.</p>
<h3>Seedbox</h3>
<p>I purchased some <a href="http://ift.tt/1caWF8K" target="_blank" title="Bhut Jolokia">bhut jolokia</a> peppers and removed the seeds to grow my own plants. With a few failed attempts with seeds already, I set out to monitor as much as possible. Using a basic incubator box I added light and temperature sensors inside and out, along with 2 moisture probes in the soil. I also added an LCD panel so I could view the internal settings at a glance.</p>
<h3>Basic Environment Monitor</h3>
<p>I decided to extend the monitoring to the basic environment my chillies were in. I had a spare temperature and light sensor which I hooked up to a Arduino Nano clone. With minimal code I was able to create a basic set of sensors connected to an old laptop. The laptop has the Server Density agent running and using a plugin reports the output back for graphing. The Nano I used is a Chinese clone from eBay of the <a href="http://ift.tt/sKuSdd" target="_blank" title="Nano">Arduino</a>. It needed the headers soldering and the bootloader to be installed, but at £4.50 instead of £20 (ish) for a genuine board, it was worth the effort.</p>
<p><img alt="Arduino board" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3912" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AIR2" srcset="http://ift.tt/1VbHJOq 300w, http://ift.tt/1SCTbfW 329w, http://ift.tt/1S5tmea 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>Once the headers were soldered on, I installed the bootloader using <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEx" target="_blank" title="avrdude">this</a>. It didn’t work initially, but after dropping <code>-U flash:w:blink.hex"</code> from the command:</p>
<div id="crayon-5706894a3cfbe306235200" class="crayon-syntax crayon-theme-classic crayon-font-monaco crayon-os-pc print-yes notranslate" data-settings=" minimize scroll-mouseover">
<div class="crayon-plain-wrap"></div>
<div class="crayon-main">
<table class="crayon-table">
<tbody>
<tr class="crayon-row">
<td class="crayon-nums" data-settings="show"></td>
<td class="crayon-code">
<div class="crayon-pre">
<div id="crayon-5706894a3cfbe306235200-1" class="crayon-line"><span class="crayon-v">avrdude</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">c</span> <span class="crayon-v">arduino</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">b</span> <span class="crayon-cn">57600</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">P</span> <span class="crayon-o">/</span><span class="crayon-v">dev</span><span class="crayon-o">/</span><span class="crayon-v">tty</span><span class="crayon-sy">.</span><span class="crayon-v">usbserial</span><span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">A501S641</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-i">p</span> <span class="crayon-v">atmega328p</span> <span class="crayon-o">–</span><span class="crayon-v">vv</span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<p><em>(N.b. Connecting to the board required the latest <a href="http://ift.tt/Pkbed9" target="_blank" title="ftdi drivers">ftdi</a> drivers for my Mac.)</em></p>
<p><img alt="server density monitoring" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3913" height="auto" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" src="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEB" srcset="http://ift.tt/1S5tmec 300w, http://ift.tt/1q9AJED 451w, http://ift.tt/1S5tmee 900w" width="100%" /></p>
<p>PC with light and temperature sensors reporting to Server Density</p>
<p>Again, I started these fairly basic projects with no real background in electronics, and owe a great deal to some of the excellent tutorials available. All of the parts were bought from eBay mostly for less than £2.</p>
<h3>Light Dependent Resistor</h3>
<p>For light measuring I used a basic LDR connected to the analog input on the Nano. With help of <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEF" target="_blank" title="Lux conversion">this post</a> I was able to convert the analog 0 to 1024 value into lux. It’s an approximate measurement but close enough for this project.</p>
<h3>Pressure Sensor BMP085</h3>
<p>The BMP085 is a great little board that contains a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. It must be connected to the analog pins 4 an 5 on the Nano to work correctly. Adafruit have a great <a href="http://ift.tt/17bYlJ7" target="_blank" title="BMP085">tutorial</a> for setting it up, again a simple case of hooking up power and the signal connections. Using the pressure reading and the temperature it’s possible to calculate your current altitude with your current sea level pressure but that was a bit beyond what I needed.</p>
<h3>Soil Moisture Hygrometer</h3>
<p>I used a basic <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AIRg" target="_blank" title="Hygrometer">sensor</a>, a simple two pronged device that is pushed into soil. This model has an LED on it as well that is either red for dry or green for moist. You can use it either analog or digital mode. I used analog and connected directly to the analog port on the Nano.</p>
<h3>Humidity  DHT22</h3>
<p>This gives the percentage of water in the air using this <a href="http://ift.tt/1dtFDoP" target="_blank" title="DHTLib">guide</a>. It also has a temperate sensor which I average with the temperature from the BMP085.</p>
<h3>Sound LM393 Electret Microphone</h3>
<p>I am waiting for this to arrive. Noise was the last aspect of the environment I could think of to measure. I am hoping to adapt <a href="http://ift.tt/NGXqxi" target="_blank" title="Microphone">this</a> to read the decibel level and log it.</p>
<h3>Improvements</h3>
<p>The main limiting factor at the moment is the Arduino board needs to be connected to some thing with a network connection. Ideally I would like to build in some wireless protocol so the boards could be placed anywhere.<a href="http://ift.tt/HQ0IqL" target="_blank" title="Xbee">Xbee</a> looks like a valid solution but each transmitter costs twice as much as all the sensors and Nano board combined!</p>
<p>Monitoring soil PH is another sensor I am investigating. I have bought <a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMI" target="_blank" title="Soil PH">this</a>, a basic soil monitor and am hoping I can take it apart and log the soil PH values.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading. It’s been really fun experimenting with our software outside of the realms of infrastructure – it’s incredible how important and useful monitoring can be and how available the technology is to buy now. It’s also proven to be a rather addictive hobby – so there’s plans to keep on monitoring and I’ll keep you posted on how we get on! In the meantime, what are you monitoring with your server density account that isn’t a website or server?</p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/14ErcuO" target="_blank" title="Light Sensor">http://ift.tt/14ErcuO</a> Light Sensor</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1lGOfYO" target="_blank" title="Liquid Crystal Display">http://ift.tt/1lGOfYO</a> Liquid Crystal Display</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPA" target="_blank" title="DHT 22">http://ift.tt/1S5tjPA</a> DHT 22</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1eBOlLE" target="_blank" title="BMP 085">http://ift.tt/1eBOlLE</a> BMP 085</li>
<li><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tmuw" target="_blank" title="Water Pump">http://ift.tt/1S5tmuw</a> Water Pump</li>
</ul>
<div id="huge-it-share-buttons-top" class="huge-it-share-buttons nobackground">
<h3>Share This:</h3>
<ul class="huge-it-share-buttons-list">
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7s','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -0px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Automatically%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('https://twitter.com/share?status=http://yoursmart.mobi/feed&text=Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -30px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJEN%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJEN watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -60px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ0','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -90px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tmuy%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tmuy watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks&mini=true&url=http://ift.tt/1LIxZZ4','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -120px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALwk%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALwk watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -150px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPB%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tjPB watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -180px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJV4%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJV4 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -210px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class=" nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1LIxY7u','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -240px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tjPD%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tjPD watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -270px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9AJV6%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9AJV6 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -300px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTq','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -330px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk5T%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk5T watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -360px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1o7SuTs','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -390px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMU%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALMU watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -420px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk5X%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks&pic=&ralateUid=&" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk5X watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks&pic=&ralateUid=&','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -450px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1q9ALMW%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1q9ALMW watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -480px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li class="none nobackground"><a href="http://ift.tt/1S5tk60%20watering%20your%20plants%20with%20sensors,%20a%20Pi%20and%20webhooks" id="backforunical413" name="backforunical413" onclick="javascript:void window.open('http://ift.tt/1S5tk60 watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks','1410949501326','width=700,height=500,toolbar=0,menubar=0,location=0,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,left=0,top=0');return false;" style="background-position: -510px -120px" target="_blank"></a></li>
</ul>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
View more at: <a href="http://yoursmart.mobi/">http://yoursmart.mobi</a>

Automatically watering your plants with sensors, a Pi and webhooks

Monitoring is the first step to understanding and fixing almost all issues. As a hobby I have been growing my own chillies with varied succ...

Contact Form