the title already says it. I am a newbie to programming and arduino, I once configured a quad copter based on a MultiWii controller, but mostly I just followed a guide. Now that I discovered gardening as a hobby, I want to bring it to another level.
I am willing to work...electronics, soldering, mathematics are no problem to me. But I need a captain who can show me where to start and what to buy.
My current thoughts are on an automated grow box, meaning light [230V] switches I/O (based on a timer), air humidity and temperature monitoring and automated watering (pump) via humidity sensor in soil. The fans[12V] inside should also adjust their speed to keep the temp steady. I would like to control the box by a touchscreen from the outside.
From my research on the internet I stumbled upon so many different projects, but they are either commercial or semi-professional (no serious attempts). Based on what I read I would say I needed some relays, an arduino board, some sensors and a touchscreen. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I thought about the Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3, because it has many outputs. As sensors I would choose a temp sensor, and two (different?) humidity sensors. The relay I saw was very old and noisy, too. But there should be an alternative to it, I guess.
If anyone could help me out by consulting me, I'd be very happy. Any suggestions for equipment or first steps would be great!
A mega seems overkill for your project. Uno/Nano should be fine.
Air Temp/humidity: I would reccomend sht21. You can buy them on eBay on tiny boards. They use the Arduino's i2c bus, so only 2 outputs needed which can be shared with other devices like...
Time: ds3231 real time clock (RTC). Quite accurate and temperature stable. Also contains a temp sensor which may be useful, perhaps to compare temp outside the box vs inside. Again, buy a tiny board version. These often have extra flash memory built in which could be useful for logging data. Both the time and flash memory are connected via the i2c bus.
Display: touchscreen is a bit advanced, maybe save that for version 2? For now perhaps a 16x2 or 20x4 character lcd. Guess what? You can get these with i2c adaptor boards too!
So that's quite a few components already and so far only 2 Arduino outputs used.
Consider doing this as a number of smaller projects; get yourself an Uno and work through getting each piece of external hardware working standalone. Then combine them one by one until you have the full system. Along the way, you should get to a point where the hardware is usable, albeit not complete.
Once you have the clock and the lights controlled for example, you can manage the watering yourself.
You'll need some relays to drive the lights and fans. Are you comfortable working with mains voltages? If not, consider a powerswitch tail to encapsulate the high voltage switching for you.
I'd echo the thought that the touchscreen controller can come later on.
TomGeorge:
Hi, use the search facility in the top of this screen, try just hydroponics.
There have been other forum users with hydroponic projects.
Tom....
Hi Tom,
thanks for the reply, but it's not that I'm lazy and want someone to explain how to do this and that. I'm just not sure what to buy and where to start...I only needed someone to point me the direction. As I said, I am totally new to this Arduino thing
PaulRB:
Hi,
A mega seems overkill for your project. Uno/Nano should be fine.
Air Temp/humidity: I would reccomend sht21. You can buy them on eBay on tiny boards. They use the Arduino's i2c bus, so only 2 outputs needed which can be shared with other devices like...
Time: ds3231 real time clock (RTC). Quite accurate and temperature stable. Also contains a temp sensor which may be useful, perhaps to compare temp outside the box vs inside. Again, buy a tiny board version. These often have extra flash memory built in which could be useful for logging data. Both the time and flash memory are connected via the i2c bus.
Display: touchscreen is a bit advanced, maybe save that for version 2? For now perhaps a 16x2 or 20x4 character lcd. Guess what? You can get these with i2c adaptor boards too!
So that's quite a few components already and so far only 2 Arduino outputs used.
Paul
Hi Paul,
thanks for your answer. I will add those to my list. I'm also pretty sure I even got a 20x4 lcd flying around somewhere (from my quad copter project...couldn't get the lcd running obviously )
Anyone got a clue about those relays? I would also appreciate literature for newbies, so if you know a great book/site, let me know!
wildbill:
Consider doing this as a number of smaller projects; get yourself an Uno and work through getting each piece of external hardware working standalone. Then combine them one by one until you have the full system. Along the way, you should get to a point where the hardware is usable, albeit not complete.
Once you have the clock and the lights controlled for example, you can manage the watering yourself.
You'll need some relays to drive the lights and fans. Are you comfortable working with mains voltages? If not, consider a powerswitch tail to encapsulate the high voltage switching for you.
I'd echo the thought that the touchscreen controller can come later on.
Hi,
good idea.
So far I haven't had any problems working with high voltages, but this "power switch tail" thing looks good. I didn't read a lot since I wanted to reply in time, but what exactly is the difference between this power switch and no switch? Is it just a kind of relay that's encapsulated?
It is indeed just an encapsulated relay, so it means that the precautions you need to take with mains wiring are done for you. Cheaper to do it yourself - if you know what you're doing.
I also have been traversing this same road for a few months now. Great thread here on the forums is Billie's Hydroponics Controller and I believe he covered all the aspects and his project is nearly identical to yours. My project would not involve an LCD, but rather will run an onboard sketch, plus also provide connectivity via the internet to my smartphone which will serve as my LCD w/o the need to consume all the IO. I think the Mega is a better choice based on the fact that it's better to have and not want than to want and not have, IO speaking that is. I got an Uno, but then quickly upgraded to a Mega once I realized how quickly I would run out of IO when I got pretty deep into building my project.
Some other supplies;
DHT22 sensor monitors air temps and RH. The temps are taken in C values, but I'm pretty sure can be converted to F for those of us in the states.
Relays I am finding to be a little confusing as well, but I can at least see that there's a lot of relays already boarded for isolation between AC and DC, plus also have the flywheel diode in place which is added isolation. When shopping for a relay, you must first consider the size of the load that it will control. Mine will control two 600 watt digital ballasts and it's my experience that I should always over rate the circuit to handle the load. With that said, 1,200 watts divided by 125 volts is 9 amps, so I want the 15 amp or higher relays just to be safe.
As far as I know, most/all DC fans can be controlled with PWM for fan speed.
Lights and pumps can obviously be controlled with relays, and if you get a data logging shield, it has the RTC (mentioned above) built right onto it. This enables you to cycle your relays for any duration you want, and frequency. Manual timers I loathe because of this. I am trying to manage cold temps with a space heater set to power on for 1 hour and off for 30 minutes which IMO is inefficient to put it politely. I hope to be able to dial in optimal air temps through the use of my DHT22 sensors and relays on the fans or heater. This would give me precision and will save me power on warmer days while not turning my flower room into a sauna on such days.
Go to Adafruit for all your shields at least. They have mostly everything we're looking for. They're cheap and ship fast. I already got the data logging shield, a servo shield and a bunch of other stuff. I got my 1 channel relays on ebay for cheap as they're from China. I will begin testing them today. The Sensor shield was also advised to me on another forum where the user uses this shield to handle his sensors while decreasing the IO needs from the arduino.
Already checkin' it out! That is one sexy move, using the smartphone as a controller, but that would be another chapter I guess.
Thanks for your recommendation...appreciate your help. Luckily I live in Europe so Celsius is just right
600 watts? What crops are you growing my friend? I'm thinking more of a 100W total at 220-230V
When I'm done (or should I say 'if'?) with my project I will spread my knowledge on the internet, maybe like a tutorial for newbies like me...Just an idea
1200 watts is to provide enough lumens and high PAR onto 50 square feet. When growing indoors, it would behoove the gardener to take full advantage of his ability to manipulate nature to give the plant more time to better develop, than once set into bloom, they will produce exponentially more produce of a more superior quality and riper. With that said, I keep my plants in vegetative growth for about 2 months before I put them into bloom.
Unless you're just going to grow small plants, I really think you'll find 100 watts to be very lacking. LED panels kind of bridge the gap as they produce much more color than my HIDs which translate to more developed terpenes and a fuller flavor all while consuming less than half the wattage, LEDs do however lack in canopy penetration abilities.
When ya finish your project, I'd appreciate a link via this thread so I can bring myself up to speed sooner than later.
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I'm thinking more of a 100W total at 220-230V