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RAIN WATER DETECTOR

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THE PROJECT OF DESCRIPTIVE

RAIN WATER DETECTOR

PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREEE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PHYSICS

RATHOD KAPIL B.

VIDYASAGAR INFOTECH COLLEGE – JAMNAGAR

2021-2022

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CERTIFICATE

En. No.:- 0032012019

This is to certify that Mr. Rathod Kapil B. is a bonafide student of the 6th semester T.Y.Bsc.
Physics of Shri Vidyasagar Infotech College Jamnagar, affiliated to Saurashtra University
has satisfactorily submitted a project report on Rain water detector during academic year
2021-2022.

Date: - …./.…/……..
Place: - Jamnagar

Head Essay Examiner’s

Department of Physics Mentor Signature

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DECLARATION

I undersigned RATHOD KAPIL B. a student of B.Sc. 6th semester declares that I have
prepared this Project report on “Rain water detector”.

I declared that this Project create by my own preparation.

RATHOD KAPIL B.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It’s a matter of great pleasure for us, to get this opportunity of expressing our deep and sincere
of gratitude to our entire professors and concerned faculties specially Ms. Prernaba Sodha
(H.O.D. OF PHYSICS) With the help of their continuous inspiration, guidance and generous
support, we were able to successfully prepare this essay and of course, without their
continuous help and support we wouldn’t have been able to complete this project in given
time.

We would also specially like to thank Ms. Khusoo Makrani who always helped us to solve
many of our queries and problems whenever required.

Finally, I am thankful to our loving parents for their valuable co-operation during the
academic year.

Only the token of thanks cannot appreciate the valuable contribution and assistance by these
wonderful people, but these ‘token of thanks gesture’ is a least that we can do.

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INDEX

Sr. No. Topic Page No.

1 Introduction 7
2 Working principle 8
3 Rain alarm circuit 8
4 Application 8
5 Block Diagram 9
6 Circuit Description 9
7 Circuit Diagram 10
8 Component Description 11
9 Advantages & Disadvantages 13
10 Conclusion 13
11 References 14

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Why We Need Rain Alarm?

This circuit enables you to manage your outside settings when it rains. You can close your windows or get
ready for rain water harvesting after hearing the alarm. With some small modification the circuit can also be
used as water level indicator, agriculture field irrigation system etc. The biggest advantage of this circuit is that
it’s simple, reliable and consumes less power.

Rain Alarm Circuit consists of three main components that include Rain sensor, Timer IC and a buzzer. The
heart of rain alarm circuit is rain sensor which is used to detect the presence of water.

When rain drops falls on the sensor, it creates a conducting path and triggers the Timer IC. Once the timer IC
is triggered, it will activate the alarm. The biggest advantage of using rain sensor in the circuit is that it is
relatively cheap and highly reliable. You don’t need to rush for purchasing the one in fact, you can make rain
sensor at home in simple way suggested in this article. So, before starting with the project, let me brief you
about the design, circuit diagram, working and application of rain sensor.

The circuit mainly works on the principle that normal water conducts some amount of electricity, although rain
water or natural water is not pure. Being able to detect rain due to use of rain sensor, this circuit can be used in
various other fields where you want to detect water.

The rain sensor is a switching device which usually activated by rainfall. This automated device is mounted
outdoor so that it can sense rain without any obstruction. You, can purchase a rain sensor from your nearest
electronic store or you can make one at home.

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Rain Sensor Working

When there is no rain, the resistance between the wires of rain sensor will be very high and there will be no
conduction between the wires on sensor. When the rain drop falls on the sensor, it will form a conductive path
between the wires and the resistance between wires wills decreases. At this point, the wires on sensor board
will start conducting current.

Simply, this sensor is working as a switch, so whenever water is present on the sensor it allows the current to
pass through it (ON condition). And, if there is no water then it discontinues the flow of current (OFF
condition).

Applications

 Rain Detector
 Professional satellite communication antennas
 Support for automatic mode of windscreen wipers
 Home automation
 Automobiles

Rain Alarm Circuit

Second main component of this circuit is Timer IC. This Timer IC generally operates in three modes namely
A-sable mode, Mono-Stable mode and Bi-Stable mode. In rain alarm circuit, the main reason behind using
Timer IC is to trigger the buzzer for producing oscillating sound.

 Required Components for Rain Detector Circuit

 Timer IC
 Rain Sensor
 Transistors- 1xBC548 , 2x 2N2222 NPN
 Capacitor- 1x22uf, 2x100uf
 Diode- 1xN4007 PN junction diode
 Ceramic capacitor- 1x10nf ,1×100 pf
 Resistors- 1×68 k Ohm, 2×3.3 k Ohm, 1×470 k Ohm, 1×10 k Ohm, 1×330 k Ohm, 1×220 k Ohm
 LED
 Connecting wires
 Breadboard
 12 V Power supply

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 Block diagram of rain water detector

Rain detecting Timer circuit Buzzer

sensor

Rain alarm circuit

 Circuit Description

It is an Automatic Rain Sensing Alarm circuit. In this circuit we use IC 555 timer, 5 resistors, 1 capacitor, 1
NPN BC545 transistor, 1 buzzer, 9v battery and rain sensor.

There are mainly two components on the circuits namely Timer IC, rain sensor which plays a pivotal role in
driving the circuit. Whenever the rain sensor detects rain, it sends the signal to Timer IC which is configured
in A-Stable mode. The triggered IC will start the buzzer which is indicating the raining condition. The alarm
sound enables you to make the necessary arrangements accordingly.

Rain water sensor is the main component in the circuit. For this rain sensor, no need to go and buy in the
market or online. We can do it ourselves just by taking the piece of Bakelite or mica board and aluminum wire.
Bakelite or mica board should be made completely flat and aluminum wire should be pasted on the flat board
as shown in the figure below of rain water sensor. Care should be taken that there should be no spaces between
the wire and board. When the rain water sensor is completed, it should get connected to the circuit and voltage
should be passed through the wires. If there is no rain, the resistance between the wires will be very high and
there will be no conduction between the wires in the sensor. If there is rain, the water drops will fall on the rain
sensor which will also decrease the resistance between the wires and wires on the sensor board will conduct
and trigger the timer through the transistors circuitry. Once timer is triggered, it will make the output pin high
and which will make the buzzer to make alarm.

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 Circuit Diagram

RAIN ALARM CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

It is a very simple rain alarm circuit which is designed using mainly a transistor, water sensor and a timer IC.
Whenever there is a rain, rain drops falls on the rain sensor, and as you can see in the diagram of rain sensor,
water on rain sensor would short the Point A and B. As soon as Point A and B become short, a positive voltage
would get applied on the base of Transistor Q1, through the resistance R4. Because of the voltage at the base,
transistor becomes ON (initially it was in OFF state), and current started flowing form collector to emitter. Now
Reset PIN 4 of the Timer gets a positive voltage and timer IC becomes ON and Buzzer starts beeping. Here we
should note that initially there was no positive voltage at Reset PIN 4 of timer IC, as it was connected to the
ground through resistance R5 (4.7k) and timer IC only works when Reset pin gets positive voltage. Here we
can see that Timer IC has been configured in A stable mode so that Buzzer generate an oscillating sound
(means periodically on and off). This oscillation frequency can be controlled by changing the value of resistor
R2 and/or capacitor C1. Pin 5 controls Pin, should be connected to ground through a .01uf capacitor. Resistor
R3 and R4 has been used to control the transistors collector and base current respectively. Rain sensor should
be kept at 30-40 degree from the ground, so that water cannot stay on it, for the long time, this will prevent the
alarm to going on for a long time.

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Component Description

1. Resistor

A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a

circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to
divide voltages, bias active elements, and terminate transmission lines, among other uses. High-power
resistors that can dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor controls,
in power distribution systems, or as test loads for generators. Fixed resistors have resistances that only
change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust
circuit elements (such as a volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat, light,
humidity, force, or chemical activity.

2. Capacitor

A capacitor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that stores electrical energy in an electric
field. The effect of a capacitor is known as capacitance. While capacitance exists between any two
electrical conductors of a circuit in sufficiently close proximity, a capacitor is specifically designed to
provide and enhance this effect for a variety of practical applications by consideration of size, shape,
and positioning of closely spaced conductors, and the intervening dielectric material. A capacitor was
therefore historically first known as an electric condenser.

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3. Transistor

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power.
It is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for connection to an
external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor’s terminals controls the
current through an- other pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than
the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.

4. Buzzer

A buzzer or beeper is an audio signaling device, which may be mechanical, elect- tromechanical, or
piezoelectric. Typical uses of buzzers and beepers include alarm devices, timers, and confirmation of
user input such as a mouse click or keystroke.

5. Rain Sensor

A rain sensor or rain switch is a switching device activated by rainfall. There are two main applications
for rain sensors. The first is a water conservation device connected to an automatic irrigation system
that causes the system to shut down in the event of rainfall. The second is a device used to protect the
interior of an automobile from rain and to support the automatic mode of windscreen wipers. An
additional application in professional satellite communications antennas is to trigger a rain blower on
the aperture of the antenna feed, to remove water droplets from the cover that keeps pressurized and dry
air inside the wave-guides. Rain sensors for irrigation systems are available in both wireless and hard-
wired versions, most employing hygroscopic disks that swell in the presence of rain and shrink back
down again as they dry out an electrical switch is in turn depressed or released by the hygroscopic disk
stack, and the rate of drying is typically adjusted by controlling the ventilation reaching the stack.
However, some electrical type sensors are also marketed that use tipping bucket or conductance type
probes to measure rainfall. Wireless and wired versions both use similar mechanisms to temporarily
suspend watering by the irrigation controller specifically they are connected to the irrigation
controller’s sensor terminals, or are installed in series with the solenoid valve common circuit such that
they prevent the opening of any valves when rain has been sensed.

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Advantages and Disadvantages

 Advantages:

Conserve Water There is a lot of water that you can save by using a rain sensor. By automatically turning
off your lawn irrigation system every time it rains, the conserved water can be used in other essential
purposes such as fighting fire.

Prevent Disease Damage and Nutrient Loss Over-watering prevents the roots of your plants from reaching
deep into the ground making your plants vulnerable to disease. Over-watering is also one of the major causes
of nutrient loss in plants as excessive watering washes away the nutrients of the soil leaving your plants
weak and unhealthy.

Save Money on Fertilizer a rain sensor prevents you from overwatering your plants and lawn. When a plant is
overwatered, the nutrients from the turf wash away into the drainage system. You have to compensate by
adding more fertilizers to your lawn and plants. This means spending more money on fertilizers. With a
rain sensor that effectively prevents your lawn irrigation system from overwatering your lawn and plants,
your garden turf will remain to be an ideal environment for your plants in accordance with the fertilizer that
you are using.

Increase the Life-span of your Irrigation System Using a rain sensor prevents unnecessary wear and tear of
your lawn irrigation system since it minimizes the amount of time that your lawn irrigation is in operation.
This is especially useful during the rainy season where rain unpredictably come and go.

Prevent Groundwater and Waterways Pollution a lawn irrigation system equipped with a rain sensor
minimizes wasteful runoff such as pesticides, motor oil, fertilizer, pet waste and sediments from reaching
your waterways. It also minimizes garden pollutants such as herbicides and fertilizers from getting into
your groundwater system.

 Disadvantages:

It doesn’t tell about the speed of the rain which is fallen on the roof.

It will send signal or the led will be glowing until the detector becomes wet.

It something is over that then the detector will not work until it gets wet.

There are so many problem that you will face when you will make this circuit.

Conclusion and Future Scope

The rain water detector-alarm system will be useful in both domestic and industrial applications. It alerts
the users of the presence of rain when it is just about to rain as even the minutest droplets of water triggers
it ON thereby giving the user ample time to retrieve possessions, shut windows, and in some cases
prepares to harvest rain water. The device when properly placed to receive the first set of droplets of rain
water can save the user from damaging possessions that were being sundried/prevent rain from entering
homes, offices, and silos etc.

Using more appropriate rain sensor we can make precise automatic rain sensing system by adding
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microcontroller based system we can implement some security features for farmer.
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Reference:

You tube

WWW.Hyperphysics.com

WWW.Academia.edu

WWW.Cirucuiteasy.com

WWW.Waterelectronics.com

WWW.Wikipedia.com

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