AUTOMATIC PLANT MOISTURIZING SYSTEM

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Herein we introduce automatic plant watering system, which is considered as

one of the most commonly used and the most beneficial automated systems
nowadays, which help people in their daily activities by reducing or completely
replacing their effort. This system uses sensor technology along with
microcontroller and other electronics in order to behave like smart switching
system which senses soil moisture level and irrigates the plant if necessary.
Purpose of this work is to show how someone can easily make own and cheap
automatic plant watering system in just few hours by connecting certain
electronic components and other materials required.

In our experiment, we connected all required materials exactly as shown in this

paper, in order to test whether our system will work properly or not. Although
the system made in that way would be the most appropriate for home usage as
solution for some daily and usual issues, there is a wide spectrum of
possibilities of implementing these systems as a long-term solution for many
agricultural and medical problems, some of which are undernourishment and air
pollution as most prominent, dangerous and important ones. As one possible
agricultural solution, this system can be very helpful in keeping vegetables and
other useful and specific plants watered for bigger harvest, which enables
farmers from all around world to breed crops of these plants which are the most
wanted and the most commonly used in diet. As medical solution, these systems
can be used for purpose of cultivating certain plants that are famous and well
known by their ability to remove air pollutants and therefore reduce the
concentration of toxic pollutants in the air as well the occurrence of respiratory
diseases. Future possibilities include some challenging and demanding ideas
like joining plants of similar variety and characteristics into complex
connections of plants, called “Internet of plants”.

There are also many other possibilities like using more than one sensor or solar
power supply for experimental purposes, but the fact is however, that,
independently of the materials used and the way in which they are connected,
this type of automated systems can be very helpful in solving very wide of
human-related problems nowadays In daily operations related to farming or
gardening Watering is the most important cultural practice and the most labor-
intensive task. No matter whichever weather it is, either too hot and dry or too
cloudy and wet, you want to be able to control the amount of water that reaches
your plants. Modern watering systems could be effectively used to water plants
when they need it. But this manual process of watering requires two important
aspects to be considered: when and how much to water. In order to replace
manual activities and making gardener's work easier, we have create automatic
plant watering system. By adding automated plant watering system to your
garden or agricultural field, you will help all of your plants reach their fullest
potential as well as conserving water. Using sprinklers drip emitters, or a
combination of both, we can design a system that is ideal for every plant in our
yard. For implementation of automatic plant watering system, we have used
combination of sprinkler systems, pipes, and nozzles.

This project uses the ATmega328 microcontroller. It is programmed to sense

moisture level of plants at particular instance of time, if the moisture content is
less than specified threshold which is predefined according to particular plant's
water need then desired amount of water is supplied till it reaches threshold.
Generally, plants need to be watered twice a day, morning and evening. Thus,
the microcontroller is programmed to water plants two times per day. System is
designed in such a way that it reports its current state as well as reminds the user
to add water to the tank. All this notifications are made through mobile
application. We hope that through this prototype we all can enjoy having plants,
without being worried about absent or forgetfulness.

Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to

assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and re
vegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate
rainfall. When a zone comes on, the water flows through the lateral lines and
ultimately ends up at the irrigation emitter (drip) or sprinkler heads. Many
sprinklers have pipe thread inlets on the bottom of them which allows a fitting
and the pipe to be attached to them. The sprinklers are usually installed with the
top of the head flush with the ground surface. When the water is pressurized, the
head will pop up out of the ground and water the desired area until the valve
closes and shuts off that zone. Once there is no more water pressure in the
lateral line, the sprinkler head will retract back into the ground. Emitters are
generally laid on the soil surface or buried a few inches to reduce evaporation
losses. Healthy plants can transpire a lot of water, resulting in an increase in the
humidity of the greenhouse air. A high relative humidity (above 80-85%)
should be avoided because it can increase the incidence of disease and reduce
plant transpiration. Sufficient venting or successive heating and venting can
prevent condensation on plants surfaces and the greenhouse structure. The use
of cooling systems during the warmer summer months increases the greenhouse
air humidity. During periods with warm and humid outdoor conditions,
humidity control inside the greenhouse can be a challenge. Greenhouses located
in dry, dessert environments benefit greatly from evaporative cooling systems
because large amounts of water can be evaporated into the incoming air,
resulting in significant temperature drops. Since the relative humidity alone
does not tell us anything about the absolute water holding capacity of air, a
different measurement is sometime used to describe the absolute moisture status
of the soil.

The vapor pressure deficit is a measure of the difference between the amount of
moisture the air contains at a given moment and the amount of moisture it can
hold at that temperature when the air would be saturated. Pressure deficit
measurement can tell us how easy it is for plants to transpire: higher values
stimulate transpiration (but too high can cause wilting), and lower values inhibit
transpiration and can lead to condensation on leaf and greenhouse surfaces. In
the mid-20th century, the advent of diesel and electric motors led to systems
that could pump groundwater out of major aquifers faster than drainage basins
could refill them.

This can lead to permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased water quality,
ground subsidence, and other problems. Apart from all these problems and
failures, there has been a considerable evolution in the methods to perform
irrigation with the help of technology. The application of technology in the
areas of irrigation has proven to be of great help as they deliver efficiency and
accuracy.

In present days, in the field of agriculture farmers are facing major problems in
watering their crops. It’s because they don’t have proper idea about the
availability of the power. Even if it is available, they need to pump water and
wait until the field is properly watered, which compels them to stop doing other
activities – which are also important for them, and thus they loss their precious
time and efforts. But, there is a solution – “ An Automatic Plant Irrigation
System “ not only helps farmers but also others for watering their gardens as
well. Healthy plants can transpire a lot of water, resulting in an increase in the
humidity of the Green house air. A high relative humidity ( above 80 – 85 % )
should be avoided because it can increase the incidence of the disease and plant
transpiration. Sufficient venting or successive heating and venting can prevent
condensation on plants surfaces and greenhouse structure. The use of cooling
system during the warmer summer months increases the greenhouse air
humidity. During periods with Warm and humid outdoor conditions, humidity
control inside the greenhouse can be a challenge. Greenhouse located in dry
environments benefit greatly from evaporative cooling system because large
amount of water can be evaporated into the incoming air, resulting in significant
temperature drops. This automatic irrigation system senses the moisture content
of the soil and automatically switches the pump when the power is on. A proper
usage of irrigation system is very important because the main reason is the
shortage of land reserved water due to lack of rain, unplanned use of water as a
result large amounts of water goes waste. For this reason, we use this automatic
plant watering system, and this system is very useful in all climatic conditions
Since the relative humidity alone does not tell us anything about the absolute
water holding capacity of air, a different measurement is sometime used to
describe the absolute moisture status of the soil. The vapor pressure deficit is a
measure of the difference between the amount of moisture the air contains at a
given moment and the amount of moisture it can hold at that temperature when
the air would be saturated. Pressure deficit measurement can tell us how easy it
is for plants to transpire: higher values stimulate transpiration (but too high can
cause wilting), and lower values inhibit transpiration and can lead to
condensation on leaf and greenhouse surfaces. In the mid-20th century, the
advent of diesel and electric motors led to systems that could pump groundwater
out of major aquifers faster than drainage basins could refill them. This can lead
to permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased water quality, ground
subsidence, and other problems. Apart from all these problems and failures,
there has been a considerable evolution in the methods to perform irrigation
with the help of technology. The application of technology in the areas of
irrigation has proven to be of great help as they deliver efficiency and accuracy.
 CHAPTER 2

COMPONENTS REQUIRED

 Arduino Uno R3
 Relay
 Soil moistoring sensor
 Pump

Arduino uno R3

Arduino

Arduino is a single-board microcontroller to make using electronics in

multidisciplinaryprojects more accessible. The hardware consists of a simple
open sourcehardware board designed around an 8-bit Atmel AVR
microcontroller, or a 32-bit Atmel ARM. The software consists of a standard
programming language compiler and a boot loader that executes on the
microcontroller.

Fig.4.1 Arduino UNO

 Arduino board designs use a variety of microprocessors and controllers.
The boards are equipped with sets of digital and analog input/output (I/O) pins
that may be interfaced to various expansion boards and other circuits. The
boards feature serial communications interfaces, including Universal Serial
Bus (USB) on some models, which are also used for loading programs from
personal computers. The microcontrollers are typically programmed using a
dialect of features from the programming languages C and C++. In addition to
using traditional compiler toolchains, the Arduino project provides an integrated
development environment (IDE) based on the Processing language project.

4.1.1 Parts of Arduino Board with Specification

Sl.No Parts of Arduino Specification

1 Microcontroller ATmega328
2 Operating Voltage 5V
Input Voltage 7-12V
3
(recommended)
4 Input Voltage (limits) 6-20V
Digital I/O Pins 14 (of which 6
5 provide PWM
output)
6 Analog Input Pins 6
7 DC Current per I/O Pin 40 mA
8 DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA
32 KB
Flash Memory (ATmega328) of
9
which 0.5 KB used
by bootloader
SRAM 2 KB
10
(ATmega328)

EEPROM 1 KB
11
(ATmega328)
12 Clock Speed 16 MHz

Table 4.1 Parts of Arduino Board with Specification

i) ATmega328 microcontroller:

The Atmega328 is a very popular microcontroller chip produced by

Atmel. It is an 8-bit microcontroller that has 32K of flash memory, 1K of
EEPROM, and 2K of internal SRAM.

The Atmega328 is one of the microcontroller chips that are used with the
popular Arduino Duemilanove boards. The Arduino Duemilanove board comes
with either 1 of 2 microcontroller chips, the Atmega168 or the Atmega328. Of
these 2, the Atmega328 is the upgraded, more advanced chip. Unlike the
Atmega168 which has 16K of flash program memory and 512 bytes of internal
SRAM, the Atmega328 has 32K of flash program memory and 2K of Internal
SRAM.

The Atmega328 has 28 pins. It has 14 digital I/O pins, of which 6 can be
used as PWM outputs and 6 analog input pins. These I/O pins account for 20 of
the pins.

The pinout for the Atmega328 is shown below.

Fig.4.2 ATmega328 Chip

 Fig.4.3Pin diagram of ATmega328

The table below gives a description for each of the pins, along with their
function.

Pin Description Function

Number
1 PC6 Reset
2 PD0 Digital Pin (RX)
3 PD1 Digital Pin (TX)
4 PD2 Digital Pin
5 PD3 Digital Pin (PWM)
6 PD4 Digital Pin
7 Vcc Positive Voltage (Power)
 8 GND Ground
9 XTAL 1 Crystal Oscillator
10 XTAL 2 Crystal Oscillator
11 PD5 Digital Pin (PWM)
12 PD6 Digital Pin (PWM)
13 PD7 Digital Pin
14 PB0 Digital Pin
15 PB1 Digital Pin (PWM)
16 PB2 Digital Pin (PWM)
17 PB3 Digital Pin (PWM)
18 PB4 Digital Pin
19 PB5 Digital Pin
20 AVCC Positive voltage for ADC
(power)
21 AREF Reference Voltage
22 GND Ground
23 PC0 Analog Input
24 PC1 Analog Input
25 PC2 Analog Input
26 PC3 Analog Input
27 PC4 Analog Input
28 PC5 Analog Input

Table 4.2 Pin functions of ATmega328 microcontroller

ii) Power supply:

The Arduino Uno can be powered via the USB connection or with an
external power supply. The power source is selected automatically.

External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC adapter

(wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a 2.1mm
center-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a battery can be
inserted in the Gnd and Vin pin headers of the POWER connector.
The board can operate on an external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If supplied
with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less than five volts and the
board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage regulator may
overheat and damage the board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts.
Power USB:

Arduino board can be powered by using the USB cable from the
computer.

Power (Barrel Jack):

Arduino boards can be powered directly from the AC mains power

supply by connecting it to the Barrel Jack.

The power pins are as follows:

 Vin: The input voltage to the Arduino board when it's using an external
power source (as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or other
regulated power source). We can supply voltage through this pin, or, if
supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this pin.
 5V: This pin outputs a regulated 5V from the regulator on the board. The
board can be supplied with power either from the DC power jack (7 -
12V), the USB connector (5V), or the VIN pin of the board (7-12V).
Supplying voltage via the 5V or 3.3V pins bypasses the regulator, and can
damage our board. We don't advise it.
 3V: A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum
current draw is 50 mA.
 GND: There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any of which can be
used to ground our circuit.

iii) Memory

The ATmega328 has 32 KB (with 0.5 KB used for the bootloader). It also
has 2 KB of SRAM and 1 KB of EEPROM (which can be read and written with
the EEPROM library).

iv) Input and Output

Each of the 14 digital pins on the Uno can be used as an input or output,
using pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() functions. They operate at 5
volts. Each pin can provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA and has an internal
pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-50 kOhms. In addition, some
pins have specialized functions:

 Serial (0 (RX) and 1 (TX)):

Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. These
pins are connected to the corresponding pins of the ATmega8U2 USB-to-
TTL Serial chip.

 External Interrupts (2 and 3):

These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low value,
a rising or falling edge, or a change in value.

 PWM (3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11):

These pins provide 8-bit PWM output with the analogWrite()
function.

 SPI (10 (SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), 13 (SCK)):

These pins support SPI communication using the SPI library.

 LED (13):
There is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13. When the pin is
HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it's off.

v) Analog pins

The Arduino UNO board has six analog input pins A0 to A5. These pins
can read the signal from an analog sensor like the humidity sensor or
temperature sensor and convert it into a digital value that can be read by the
microprocessor.

The UNO has 6 analog inputs, labeled A0 through A5, each of which
provide 10 bits of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they
measure from ground to 5 volts, though is it possible to change the upper end of
their range using the AREF pin and the analogReference() function.
Additionally, some pins have specialized functionality:

TWI (A4 or SDA pin and A5 or SCL pin)

Support TWI communication using the Wire library.

 SDA :
 Serial Data, It is the bidirectional data line that is used by I2C.

 SCL :
Serial Clock, It is used to indicate that data is ready on
bidirectional data line that is used by I2C.

 AREF:
Reference voltage for the analog inputs used with
analogReference(). Analog Read Reference, It is mainly used for
analogReference() function calls, as default it is not required but to use it
we have to add some voltage source between 0V to 5V in AREF Pin
which will be considered as accurate reference voltage.

vi) Digital I/O

The Arduino UNO board has 14 digital I/O pins (of which 6 provide
PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output. These pins can be configured to work
as input digital pins to read logic values (0 or 1) or as digital output pins to drive
different modules like LEDs, relays, etc. The pins labeled “~” can be used to
generate PWM.

vii) Reset:

Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. Typically used to add a
reset button to shields which block the one on the board. By resetting Arduino
board, we start the program from the beginning. We can reset the UNO board
in two ways. First, by using the reset button on the board. Second, connect an
external reset button to the Arduino pin labelled RESET.

viii) Regulator:

The function of the voltage regulator is to control the voltage given to the
Arduino board and stabilize the DC voltages used by the processor and other
elements.

ix) Crystal Oscillator:

The crystal oscillator helps Arduino in dealing with time issues. It is used
to calculate the time. The number printed on top of the Arduino crystal is
16.000H9H. It means that the frequency is 16,000,000 Hertz or 16MHz.
x) Main microcontroller:

This Arduino board has Atmega328 microcontroller. It is the brain of the

board. The main IC (integrated circuit) on the Arduino is slightly different
from board to board. The microcontrollers are usually of the ATMEL
Company. We must know what IC our board has before loading up a new
program from the Arduino IDE. This information is available on the top of the
IC.

xi) ICSP pin:

Mostly, ICSP is an AVR, a tiny programming header for the Arduino

consisting of MOSI, MISO, SCK, RESET, VCC, and GND. It is often referred
to as an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), which could be considered as an
"expansion" of the output. Actually, we are slaving the output device to the
master of the SPI bus.

xii) Power LED indicator:

This LED should light up when we plug the Arduino into a power source
to indicate that the board is powered up correctly. If this light does not turn on,
then there is something wrong with the connection.

xiii) TX and RX LEDs:

The digital pins 0 and 1, to indicate the pins responsible for serial
communication. The TX led flashes with different speed while sending the
serial data. The speed of flashing depends on the baud rate used by the board.
RX flashes during the receiving process.

xiv) Communication

The Arduino Uno has a number of facilities for communicating with a

computer, another Arduino, or other microcontrollers. The ATmega328
provides UART TTL (5V) serial communication, which is available on digital
pins 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). An ATmega16U2 on the board channels this serial
communication over USB and appears as a virtual com port to software on the
computer. The '16U2 firmware uses the standard USB COM drivers, and no
external driver is needed. However, on Windows, a inf file is required. The
Arduino software includes a serial monitor which allows simple textual data to
be sent to and from the Arduino board. The RX and TX LEDs on the board will
flash when data is being transmitted via the USB-to-serial chip and USB
connection to the computer (but not for serial communication on pins 0 and 1).

A Software Serial library allows for serial communication on any of the

Uno's digital pins. The ATmega328 also supports I 2C (TWI) and SPI
communication. The Arduino software includes a Wire library to simplify use
of the I2C bus.

4.2 POWER SUPPLY

5V dc supply is required for powering Arduino boards.

4.2.1 Powering through USB Port

It is very important to connect properly the positive and the negative

poles to the Arduino board, otherwise there is the risk to see nothing work or
even to make irreparable damages. In fact, while in some cases there are some
intrinsic protections on the board, in other cases the polarity inversion might
cause immediate damages.

Fig.4.4 Arduino’s powering inputs

5 V have to reach this socket (different voltages are not allowed,

absolutely!), coming from a computer’s USB port, or from any power supply
that is provided with a USB port (in general, they are small size power supplies,
suitable to power devices that are provided with a USB cable). If the powering
comes from a computer, there is a current limitation of 250 mA or 500 mA,
depending on the USB port of the computer; if on the other hand we are using
an external power supply, the maximum output current (regardless of the one
guaranteed by the same power supply, that in general is a maximum of 1 A or 2
A) is anyway limited to 500 mA by the PTC self-resettable protection fuse.

This one is handy for experimenting with small loads, requiring 5 V,

since it enables the dual function of powering and programming the board; the
power limit imposed by the PTC fuse is 500 mA, and actually, these
components tolerate up to almost twice the value before a protective
intervention, but it is better to consider the nominal value; the polarity on the
USB socket is a standard one and thus does not cause problems.

Fig.4.5 Powering Arduino by means of USB Port

Introduction

This is a LOW Level 5V 2-channel relay interface board, and each channel
needs a 15-20mA driver current. It can be used to control various appliances
and equipment with large current. It is equiped with high-current relays that
work under AC250V 10A or DC30V 10A. It has a standard interface that can be
controlled directly by microcontroller.

Features

 Relay Maximum output: DC 30V/10A, AC 250V/10A

 2 Channel Relay Module with Optocoupler LOW Level Triger expansion

board, which is compatible with arduino

 Standard interface that can be controlled directly by microcontroller

( 8051, AVR, *PIC, DSP, ARM, ARM, MSP430, TTL logic)

 Relay of high quality loose music relays SPDT. A common terminal, a

normally open, one normally closed terminal

 optocoupler isolation, good anti-jamming

Schematic

VCC and RY-VCC are also the power supply of the relay module. When you
need to drive a large power load, you can take the jumper cap off and connect
an extra power to RY-VCC to supply the relay; connect VCC to 5V of the MCU
board to supply input signals.
principle

See the picture below: A is an electromagnet, B armature, C spring, D moving

contact, and E fixed contacts. There are two fixed contacts, a normally closed
one and a normally open one. When the coil is not energized, the normally open
contact is the one that is off, while the normally closed one is the other that is
on.

Add a certain voltage to the coil and some currents will pass through the coil
thus generating the electromagnetic effect. So the armature overcomes the
tension of the spring and is attracted to the core, thus closing the moving contact
of the armature and the normally open contact (or you may say releasing the
former and the normally closed contact). After the coil is de-energized, the
electromagnetic force disappears and the armature moves back to the original
position, releasing the moving contact and normally closed contact. The closing
and releasing of the contacts results in power on and off of the circuit.

Input:

VCC : Connected to positive supply voltage (supply power according to relay

voltage)
GND : Connected to negative supply voltage
IN1: Signal triggering terminal 1 of relay module
IN2: Signal triggering terminal 2 of relay module

Output:

Each submodular of the relay has one NC(nomalclose), one NO(nomalopen)

and one COM(Common). So there are 2 NC, 2 NO and 2 COM of the channel
relay in total. NC stands for the normal close port contact and the state without
power; No stands for the normal open port contact and the state with power.
COM means the common port. You can choose NC port or NO port according
to whether power or not.

Application

General purpose

DESCRIPTION

This Relay Module 2-Channel is a module designed to allow you to control two
relays in a very simple and intuitive manner. Being compatible with Arduino,
the most immediate way to use it is to connect it to an Arduino board using
flexible jumpers.

Exploiting the characteristics of the relays mounted on the module and through
the use of two Arduino digital I/O pins, it is possible to control motors,
inductive loads and other devices; this product is therefore fundamental in
domotics projects or, more in general, in robotics projects.

The module is equipped with two optocouplers on the IN1 and IN2 lines in such
a way that it ensures the galvanic insulation between the relay load and the
control board which drives this module. Two LEDs indicate the ON and OFF
state of the two channels.

CHARACTERISTICS

Supply voltage +5V

Supply current 144mA typ. (150mA max.)
Current on pin INx 14mA typ.
Rated load 7A 250VAC
Operating temperature -30°C / +70°C
Operate time max. 10ms Max.
Release time max. 5ms Max.
Insulation resistance 100Mohm Min.
Mechanical Life
10,000,000 operations
Expectancy
Electrical Life Expectancy 10,000 operations
Dimensions 1.7” x 1.3” (43.2 x 33.0 mm)
Weight 0.92 oz (26.2g)
2-Channel 5V Relay Shield Module is a 5V 2-channel relay interface board, it
can be controlled directly by a wide range of microcontrollers such as Arduino,
AVR, PIC, ARM and so on. With digital outputs to control larger loads and
devices like AC or DC Motors, electromagnets, solenoids, and incandescent
light bulbs. This module is designed to be integrated with 2 relays that it is
capable of control 2 relays. The relay shield use high-quality relay with rated
load 7A/240VAC,10A/125VAC,10A/28VDC.The relay output state is
individually indicated by a light-emitting diode.

Features of 2-Channel 5V Relay Shield Module :

 Brand new and high quality.

 This module can be used with Arduino Special Sensor Shield V4.0.

 2-Channel Relay interface board,

  Each one needs 15-20mA Driver Current

 Equiped with high-current relay : DC30V 10A AC250V 10A

 Standard interface that can be controlled directly by microcontroller

(Arduino , 8051, AVR, PIC, DSP, ARM)

Package Includes :

 1 x 2-Channel 5V Relay Module

RELAY:

Relay Pin Configuration

 Pin Pin Name Description
Number

1 Coil End 1 Used to trigger(On/Off) the Relay,

Normally one end is connected to 5V
and the other end to ground

2 Coil End 2 Used to trigger(On/Off) the Relay,

Normally one end is connected to 5V
and the other end to ground

3 Common (COM) Common is connected to one End of

the Load that is to be controlled

4 Normally Close The other end of the load is either

(NC) connected to NO or NC. If connected
to NC the load remains connected
before trigger

5 Normally Open The other end of the load is either

(NO) connected to NO or NC. If connected
to NO the load remains disconnected
before trigger

Features of 5-Pin 5V Relay

 Trigger Voltage (Voltage across coil) : 5V DC

 Trigger Current (Nominal current) : 70mA

 Maximum AC load current: 10A @ 250/125V AC

 Maximum DC load current: 10A @ 30/28V DC

 Compact 5-pin configuration with plastic moulding

 Operating time: 10msec Release time: 5msec

  Maximum switching: 300 operating/minute (mechanically)

Equivalent Relays

3V Relay, 12V Relay, 1-channel Relay module, 4-channel Relay Module.

How to use a Relay

Relays are most commonly used switching device in electronics. Let us learn
how to use one in our circuits based on the requirement of our project.

Before we proceed with the circuit to drive the relay we have to consider two
important parameter of the relay. Once is the Trigger Voltage, this is the
voltage required to turn on the relay that is to change the contact from
Common->NC to Common->NO. Our relay here has 5V trigger voltage, but
you can also find relays of values 3V, 6V and even 12V so select one based on
the available voltage in your project. The other parameter is your Load Voltage
& Current, this is the amount of voltage or current that the NC,NO or Common
terminal of the relay could withstand, in our case for DC it is maximum of 30V
and 10A. Make sure the load you are using falls into this range.

The above circuit shows a bare-minimum concept for a relay to operate. Since
the relay has 5V trigger voltage we have used a +5V DC supply to one end of
the coil and the other end to ground through a switch. This switch can be
anything from a small transistor to a microcontroller or a microprocessor which
can perform switching operating. You can also notice a diode connected across
the coil of the relay, this diode is called the Fly back Diode. The purpose of the
diode is to protect the switch from high voltage spike that can produced by the
relay coil. As shown one end of the load can be connected to the Common pin
and the other end is either connected to NO or NC. If connected to NO the load
remains disconnected before trigger and if connected to NC the load remains
connected before trigger.

Applications of Relay

 Commonly used in switching circuits.

 For Home Automation projects to switch AC loads

 To Control (On/Off) Heavy loads at a pre-determined time/condition

 Used in safety circuits to disconnect the load from supply in event of

failure

 Used in Automobiles electronics for controlling indicators glass motors

etc.

2D model of the Relay

Soil moisture sensors

Soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content in soil.[1] Since the
direct gravimetric measurement of free soil moisture requires removing, drying,
and weighting of a sample, soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water
content indirectly by using some other property of the soil, such as electrical
resistance, dielectric constant, or interaction with neutrons, as a proxy for the
moisture content.
The relation between the measured property and soil moisture must be
calibrated and may vary depending on environmental factors such as soil
type, temperature, or electric conductivity. Reflected microwave radiation is
affected by the soil moisture and is used for remote sensing in hydrology and
agriculture. Portable probe instruments can be used by farmers or gardeners.
Soil moisture sensors typically refer to sensors that estimate volumetric water
content. Another class of sensors measure another property of moisture in soils
called water potential; these sensors are usually referred to as soil water
potential sensors and include tensiometers and gypsum blocks.
Agriculture
Measuring soil moisture is important for agricultural applications to help
farmers manage their irrigation systems more efficiently. Knowing the exact
soil moisture conditions on their fields, not only are farmers able to generally
use less water to grow a crop, they are also able to increase yields and the
quality of the crop by improved management of soil moisture during critical
plant growth stages
Landscape irrigation
In urban and suburban areas, landscapes and residential lawns are using soil
moisture sensors to interface with an irrigation controller. Connecting a soil
moisture sensor to a simple irrigation clock will convert it into a "smart"
irrigation controller that prevents irrigation cycles when the soil is already wet,
e.g. following a recent rainfall event. [4]
Golf courses are using soil moisture sensors to increase the efficiency of their
irrigation systems to prevent over-watering and leaching of fertilizers and other
chemicals into the ground
Soil moisture sensors are used in numerous research applications, e.g.
in agricultural science and horticulture including irrigation planning, climate
research, or environmental science including solute transport studies and as
auxiliary sensors for soil respiration measurements
Simple sensors for gardeners
Relatively cheap and simple devices that do not require a power source are
available for checking whether plants have sufficient moisture to thrive. After
inserting a probe into the soil for approximately 60 seconds, a meter indicates if
the soil is too dry, moist or wet for plants

Soil moisture Sensor

The Moisture sensor is used to measure the water content (moisture) of soil.
When the soil is having water shortage, the module output is at high level; else
the output is at low level. This sensor reminds the user to water their plants and
also monitors the moisture content of soil. It has been widely used in
agriculture, land irrigation and botanical gardening.
Specifications

 Working Voltage:5V

 Working Current:<20mA

 Interface type:Analog

 Working Temperature:10°C~30°C

Working Principle of Moisture Sensor

The Soil Moisture Sensor uses capacitance to measure dielectric permittivity of

the surrounding medium. In soil, dielectric permittivity is a function of the
water content. The sensor creates a voltage proportional to the dielectric
permittivity, and therefore the water content of the soil. The sensor averages the
water content over the entire length of the sensor. There is a 2 cm zone of
influence with respect to the flat surface of the sensor, but it has little or no
sensitivity at the extreme edges.The Soil Moisture Sensor is used to measure the
loss of moisture over time due to evaporation and plant uptake,evaluate
optimum soil moisture contents for various species of plants,monitor soil
moisture content to control irrigation in greenhouses and enhance bottle biology
experiments.

Soil Moisture Sensors

Tensiometric and volumetric are the two primary sensor types that measure soil
moisture. As the name implies, tensiometric sensors or probes measure soil
moisture tension, or the potential soil moisture. Tensiometers are sensitive to
soil properties by measuring how tightly a particular soil type retains water.
Volumetric sensors measure the actual volume of water in the soil. Soil
moisture sensors can work in tandem with your irrigation system by signaling
the need for water and turning on the system, or they can prevent sprinklers
from coming on if there’s enough moisture in the soil.

Tensiometers

Tensiometer probes are water-filled tubes that you insert into the soil to the
depth of plant roots. At the bottom of the probe is a porous ceramic tip, and at
the top of the probe is an above-ground gauge. Water from the tube leaves the
porous cap and enters the soil around it. As the moisture inside the tube reaches
equilibrium with the soil moisture outside the tube, the moisture tension
registers on the gauge. When soil is dry, a plant must use greater suction to
extract the available water from the soil. The tensiometer gauge reflects this soil
water suction -- the higher the reading, the drier the soil.

Gypsum Blocks

Another type of sensor that measures soil water tension is a gypsum block, also
called an electrical resistance block. A porous block, typically made of gypsum,
is placed on top of the soil and must maintain firm contact with it. The block
contains two embedded electrodes into which wires are inserted. The other ends
of the wires penetrate the soil surface. As water moves through the block to
maintain equilibrium with the soil moisture, the electrodes measure the
electrical resistance that the water generates. A portable meter converts the
resistance readings to water tension values.

Time Domain Reflectometry

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) technology measures actual soil water

content instead of soil water potential. Steel rods that you bury in the soil
receive electrical signals from the TDR device. Sensors measure the signal’s
rate of return, which estimates how much water is in the soil. Dry soil returns
the signal faster than wet soil. TDR soil moisture sensors provide accurate
 readings quickly and require minimal maintenance. On the down side, TDR
sensors require data interpretation, and they may need different calibrations
depending on varying soil makeup.

Pump:

This is a low cost mini submersible type water pump that works on 3-6V DC. It
is extremely simple and easy to use. Just immerse the pump in water, connect a
suitable pipe to the outlet and power the motor with 3-6V to start pumping
water. Great for building science projects, fire-extinguishers, fire fighting
robots, fountains, waterfalls, plant watering systems etc.

This motor is small, compact and light. It can be controlled from a micro
controller/Arduino using our DC Motor Drivers or one of our Relay Boards.
You may use our 5V SMPS Power Supply Adapter to run this pump. You may
also use our 6V Solar Panel to run the pump with appropriate a 6V voltage
regulator.

Note: Do not run the pump dry (without putting it in water) and do not use it to
pump flamable liquids.

Features

 Operating DC Voltage: 2.5-6V

 Maximum Water lift height: 40-110cm / 15.75"-43.4"
 Flow rate: 80-120L/H
 Outer Diameter of Water Outlet: 7.5mm / 0.3"
 Inside Diameter of Water Outlet: 5mm / 0.2"
 Pump Diameter: Approx. 24mm / 0.95"
 Pump Length: Approx. 45mm / 1.8"
 Pump Height: Approx. 30mm / 1.2"
 Wire Length: ~13mm cm

Applications

 Great for building science projects, fire-extinguishers, fire fighting robots,

fountains, waterfalls, plant watering systems etc.
 Controlled fountain water flow
 Controlled Garden watering systems
 Hydroponic Systems
 Fresh water intake or exhaust systems for fish aquqriums
BASIC ADVANTAGES

Saves Water: Studies show that this type of automated irrigation system
consumes 40-50% less water as compared to the traditional system.

Improves Growth: Ideal growth condition is been provided when small amount
of water is been applied over large amount of time. This smart irrigation system
extends watering time for plants, and provides ideal growth condition.

Save Time: In this sprinklers moving and setting is not required hence it saves
time and timer delay as per the environmental condition can be added for
automatic watering. Adaptable: This smart irrigation system can be adjusted and
modified according to the changing environment.

Simpler Method: It is simple to operate it starts by designing the map of your

garden and marking the location of planting. Then the required distance is been
measured for length of plastic tubing so that the desired area can be reached.
 CHAPTER 3

WORKING EXPLANATION

Thus the “ARDUINO BASED AUTOMATIC PLANT WATERING

SYSTEM” has been designed and tested successfully. It has been developed by
integrated features of all the hardware components used. Presence of every
module has been reasoned out and placed carefully, thus contributing to the best
working of the unit. Thus, the Arduino Based Automatic Plant Watering System
has been designed and tested successfully. The system has been tested to
function automatically. The moisture sensors measure the moisture level (water
content) of the different plants. If the moisture level is found to be below the
desired level, the moisture sensor sends the signal to the Arduino board which
triggers the Water Pump to turn ON and supply the water to respective plant
using the Rotating Platform/Sprinkler. When the desired moisture level is
reached, the system halts on its own and the Water Pump is turned OFF. Thus,
the functionality of the entire system has been tested thoroughly and it is said to
function successfully.

Conclusion:

The soil moisture response monitoring system designed is very simple to

understand and handle. It can be operated by all age-groups of farmer. It can be
reprogrammable to add more features. The moisture is measured up to the root
zone of the crop. Thus it can be used to check the moisture value for any crop.
Sensor can be placed vertically in the soil to check the depth of irrigated water
and also it can be placed horizontally at different heights in the soil according to
the crop. It is user friendly and can also be used by uneducated farmers. The
moisture is checked in the morning and the evening and it is found that moisture
is linear up to 20%VWC (volumetric water content) and afterwards output
voltage becomes almost constant.