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In country like India most of the people are dependent on agriculture.Foreffective planning in agriculture weather forecast is of utmost importance.Sofarmers are always interested in the Weather Forecasts.As farmers stay inremote areas, they have to wait for the news updates in TV, Radio or NewsPapers.Unfortunately this weather information is not the accurate data of their

DC to DCConverterMornusn is expert in DCto DC converters. Checkhere for more!

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deba168(/member/deba168/)OpenGreenEnergy(http://www.opengreenenergy.in/)

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I am an Electrical Engineer.I love toharvest Solar Energy and make things byrecycling old stuffs. I believe in ""IF YOUTRY YOU MIGHT,IF YOU DON'T YOUWON'T ""

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SOLAR POWERED ARDUINO WEATHER STATION by deba168 (/member/deba168/)

Collection I Made it!

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13 Steps

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local environment rather it gives data of nearest weather forecasting station.Being a son of a farmer, I decided to monitor the local weather and inform to myfather earlier.So that he can take early decision for his farm.

My weather stations typically consist of two major parts:

1. The sensors that sit outside and measure temperature,humidity, rainfall, andbarometric pressure.This data is send wirelessly through a RF transmittermodule to the display unit.I named the entire module as Transmitter module.(Tx).

2. The display unit that lives inside in a convenient place so any one can readthe external temperature,humidity etc. It equipped with a RF receiver to receivedata from transmitter module.I named it as Receiver module (Rx).

Both the module are run by the arduino micro controllers.

As the transmitter module is deployed in the field,we have to deal with the powermanagement.It is impractical to run a long cable to provide power to thesensor’s location.This leaves relatively few practical options.

1. Connecting directly an Arduino board to a battery. Though it sounds good andobviously it would work, but your battery would be depleted in a matter of daysbecause some components like voltage regulators,power led and USBinterfacing chip in the arduino board are always drawing power. But now a days high capacity battery packs are readily available in themarket.Solar panels are getting more efficient and cheaper. Adding a boostconverter in the circuits extract every last drops of juice out of battery.

2. Putting the arduino to “sleep mode" to consume even less power.

You can see it in the step­11 and 12.

In this guide I will teach a new skills on how you can make a solar poweredbattery pack for your arduino and how arduino power consumption can beoptimize by putting it in to sleep mode.

By using the above technique you can run your sensor related or any otherstand alone arduino project for a long time.

Step 1: PARTS AND TOOLS REQUIRED :

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(http://cdn.instructables.com/FLR/ZMOI/HZS9014S/FLRZMOIHZS9014S.LARGE.jpg)

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(/id/DIY­SOLAR­LI­ION­LIPO­BATTERY­CHARGER)

(/id/REUSE­YOUR­OLD­LAPTOP­BATTERY­TO­MAKE­A­POWER­BANK)

ARDUINO (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­arduino/)

SOLAR (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­solar/)

LI ION (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­li+ion/)

CHARGER (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­charger/)

SLEEP MODE (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­sleep+mode/)

WEATHER (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­weather/)

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LCD (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­lcd/)

RF (/tag/type­id/category­technology/keyword­rf/)

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Wireless outdoor Arduinoweather station with PClogging and Graphs(/id/Wireless­outdoor­Arduino­weather­station­The Bedroom AutomationBox (/id/The­Bedroom­Automation­Box/)by Saiyam (/member/Saiyam/)

watch + weather station(/id/watch­weather­station/)by ЕвгенийБ1(/member/%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%911/)DIY handheld LED lamp(/id/DIY­handheld­LED­lamp/)by Dushyanta(/member/Dushyanta+/)Mini weather station withAttiny85 (/id/Mini­weather­station­with­Attiny85/)by diy_bloke(/member/diy_bloke/)

PARTS :

1.Arduino Uno (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNO­R3­Development­Board­Microcontroller­MEGA328P­ATMEGA16U2­Arduino­Compat­/271576308037?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3b359945))

2.Arduino Nano (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB­Nano­V3­0­ATmega328­16M­5V­Micro­controller­CH340G­board­For­Arduino­/311064700128?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item486ce6a4e0))

3. DHT11 (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/DHT11­DHT­11­Digital­Temperature­and­Humidity­Sensor­Temperature­sensor­Arduino­/400489574221?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3f09ef4d))

4.RF transmitter­Receiver pair (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/433Mhz­RF­transmitter­and­receiver­link­kit­for­Arduino­ARM­MC­U­remote­control­/180929057924?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a20365484))

5.20x4 LCD display (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/2004­204­20x4­Character­LCD­Display­Module­HD44780­Controller­Blue­Blacklight­/400448319287?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3c946f37))

6.LCD I2C module (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/IIC­I2C­TWI­SP­I­Serial­Interface­Board­Module­Port­For­Arduino­1602LCD­Display­/310565362720?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item484f235c20))

7. 3.7 V Li Ion Battery /2 AA Ni Mh rechargable Battery (eBay(http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs­3­7V­6000mAh­18650­Li­ion­Rechargeable­Battery­for­Flashlight­UltraFire­/111455080979?pt=US_Rechargeable_Batteries&hash=item19f33d9213))

8.Boost Converter (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini­PFM­Control­DC­DC­USB­0­9V­5V­to­5V­dc­Boost­Step­up­Power­Supply­Module­/400345678301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d367641dd))

9.Li Ion Battery charging board (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/New­5V­Mini­USB­1A­Lithium­Battery­Charging­Board­Charger­Module­IN­4­5V­5­5v­/170926767910?pt=Battery_Chargers&hash=item27cc077f26))

10. Battery Holder (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1­x­Battery­Holder­Case­box­for­1­18650­17650­Li­ion­battery­w­6­Wire­Lead­/151398119064?

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F7P/NT1B/HZS901EY/F7PNT1BHZS901EY.LARGE.jpg)

pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item234007f698))

11.Solar Panel (eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PC­1­6W­5­5V­266mA­Mini­Solar­Panel­Module­System­Epoxy­Cell­Charger­DIY­/261486100708?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ce1c940e4))

12.Resistor (10K)

13.Diode (IN4007)

14.Jumper wires/Wires

15.Bread Board

16.22 AWG solid core wire ( for making antenna)

17.Scotch mounting pad and tap

TOOLS :

1.Soldering Iron and solder

2.Glue gun

3.Hobby Knife

4.Drill

5.Wire cutter/Stripper

Step 2: SOLAR POWER

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FZ4/6HVW/HZQTDNIG/FZ46HVWHZQTDNIG.LARGE.jpg)

Why Solar Power ?

The main draw back of battery operated device is that it will depleted after acertain time.This draw back can be eliminated by using a natural resources likesolar,wind or hydro energy.The most obvious free source of energy to rechargethe battery is solar energy. It is a relatively simple, cheap and requires very lessskill .

Among the rechargeable battery nickle metal hydride (NiMH) and Li Ion batteryare widely used for battery operated device.

Facts on Battery Charging :

The thumb rule for charging Ni Mh batteries is 1/10th (commonly known asC/10). To charge the battery pack at 1/10th its rated current requires 16 hours ofcharge time( You can see the picture).The solar panel receives optimal sunlightfor only four hours per day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thus, a totally ideal systemwould require four days to fully charge the battery pack.

What is C/10 ?

For example we have a 2xAA–sized 1300mAh battery pack that is rated at 1.2volts per cell. With cells in series, our pack outputs 2.4 volts and 1300mAh.

Here capacity C =1300mAh

C/10 means 1300/10 =130mAh

So to charge the above battery pack we need a higher voltage ( 2.4 to 3 V) witha maximum current of 130mAh.

As per C/10 rule it requires 16 hours to fully charge the battery pack.

You must be ask,what will happen if we increase the current (>130mAh) ?Nodoubt your battery will charge faster.But the life of the battery will be reduce.Somy advice is to keep the current bellow the C/10 value.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FWD/WD4I/HZQTDNNY/FWDWD4IHZQTDNNY.LARGE.jpg)

Step 3: How to Choose the right solar panel

The main source for powering the sensor module is solar panel.So it must beable to provide current for powering the arduino as well as current to charge thebattery pack during the day.As per my experience it is the most challenging partfor a novice user.

Don't worry these are the following tricks which can help you to buy a right solarpanel.

1. Voltage : Choose 1.5 times the battery pack voltage

2.Current : Current taken by the Arduino + current for charging (should be

Example :

A battery pack is made of 2 AA Ni Mh battery.

Battery voltage = 1.2 x 2= 2.4V

So required voltage for solar panel =2.4 x 1.5 = 3.6V

By taking some margin we can choose a 4V solar panel for it.

The sensor module along with arduino taking 100mAh current.

Battery capacity is 1300mAh

C/10 = 130mAh

Solar panel have to provide current 100mAh for arduino along with a current notmore than 130mAh.

Lets take 100 mAh for charging the battery Total current required = 100+100=200mAh

From the above calculation it is clear that we need a solar panel of 4V and200mAh.

The following table shows the solar system configuration relationship betweenstorage batteries and mini solar panels.

Battery ­­­­> Solar Panel

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F9D/MXGL/HZQTDNW0/F9DMXGLHZQTDNW0.LARGE.jpg)

1.2V ­­­­­­> 2V ~ 2.5V

2.4V ­­­­­­> 3.5V ~ 4V

3.6V ­­­­­­> 5V ~ 6V

6V ­­­­­­> 7.5V ~ 9V

12V ­­­­­­>15V ~ 18V

Note : It is not the strict rule for choosing the exact rating solar panel,rather it isapproximate rating .I write as per my experience.

Step 4: Ni Mh Battery Charger :

To power a arduino we need 5v.There are two options

1. Use a 4 AA battery pack :

Total voltage =1.2V x4=4.8V (nominal ) but when it is fully charge,voltage ismore than 5V.This is not efficient.

2.Use 2 AA battery pack :

Total voltage =1.2Vx2 =2.4 V

In this case we have to raise the voltage level to 5V by using a voltage boostercircuit.

I recommend to use this pack.It is reliable and efficient.Charging Circuit :

Standard sized nickle metal hydride (NiMH) cells need simple charge circuit.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FQA/R37B/HZS901S2/FQAR37BHZS901S2.LARGE.jpg)

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You only need a solar panel, diode, the batteries, and a battery case and wires.

4 AA battery pack

Solder the positive terminal of the solar panel to the positive terminal of diode.

Solder the negative terminal of diode to the positive terminal of battery pack.

solder the negative terminal of the solar panel to the negative terminal of thebattery pack.

See the above picture for soldering.

2 AA battery pack

As the battery pack voltage is not sufficient in this case, we have to use abooster circuit to make 5V for arduino.

Step 5: Boost Converter

A boost converter is a DC­to­DC power converter (like a step up transformer inAC) with an output voltage greater than its input voltage.

Boost converter used in this project have following specification :

>>Input voltage: 0.9V­5V DC

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FDI/Z3C2/HZQTEYSH/FDIZ3C2HZQTEYSH.LARGE.jpg)

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>>Transfer efficiency:96%(max)

>>With USB port

>>With working indicator light

>>with one AA battery power supply output current can up to 200~300mA,

>>two AA batteries to the output current of 500~600mA

You can buy it from eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini­PFM­Control­DC­DC­USB­0­9V­5V­to­5V­dc­Boost­Step­up­Power­Supply­Module­/400345678301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d367641dd)

Adafruit have also designed a boost converter known as Minityboost(http://www.adafruit.com/products/14) for USB charging.You can also use it.

In our case the input to the boost converter is 2.4V and out put is 5V which issufficient to power a arduino.

Solder the '+' terminal of boost converter to the battery positive terminal.

Solder the '­' terminal of the boost converter to the battery negative terminal.

Step 6: Li Ion Battery Charger

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Among the all charger what I have discussed earlier ,I like it most.This is themost powerful and efficient battery pack.The interesting thing is that you can usethis for charging any usb powered gadget like smart phone,tablet,MP3 etc.

If you look at the Periodic Table, you will find that Lithium is on the far left in thefirst column, where all the most reactive elements live.

Caution :

You must take certain precautions when dealing with Lithium Ion Batteries. Inorder to maintain a very precise voltage when charging. The 3.7V batterieswe're using in this guide need to have a charging voltage of 4.2V.A volt high or avolt low can mean an out of control chemical reaction which can lead to danger.

Don't worry a suitable Li Ion battery charge controller will solve the aboveproblem.

Lithium Battery Charging Board used in this project have following specification :

>> Current­ 1A adjustable.

>> Charge precision­ 1.5%.

>> Input voltage­ 4.5V­5.5V.

>> Full charge voltage­ 4.2V.

>> Led indicator­ red is charging blue is full charged.

>>Input interface­ mini USB.

>> Work temperature­ ­10 to +85.

You can buy it from eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/New­5V­Mini­USB­1A­Lithium­Battery­Charging­Board­Charger­Module­IN­4­5V­5­5v­/170926767910?pt=Battery_Chargers&hash=item27cc077f26)

Circuit Connection :

Solder the Input positive terminal of boost converter(red wire) and battery holderpositive terminal(red wire) to the charging board's BAT + .

Solder the Input negative terminal of boost converter(black wire) and batteryholder negative terminal(black wire) to the charging board's BAT­.

The boost converter output is a USB terminal. For powering a bread boardcircuit we need two wires for connection.So we have to modify somethingaccording our requirement.

The usb have four terminals (5V,D­,D+and GND).

Solder the red and black wire to the + and ­ respectively as shown in the backside of the boost converter.

Note : The boost converter do not have any marking.So use my picture duringsoldering.

Step 7: TRANSMITTER

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F5Y/99LB/HZNYK2AG/F5Y99LBHZNYK2AG.LARGE.jpg)

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The transmitter module contain the DHT11 sensor which is a relatively cheapsensor for measuring temperature and humidity of the environment.It is good for20­80% humidity readings with 5% accuracy and for 0­50°C temperaturereadings with ±2°C accuracy.

I ordered the Barometric Pressure Sensor( BMP085) and rain fall sensor fromeBay to forecast more weather data.For the time being I am happy with onlytemperature and humidity.

The weather data is measured by DHT11 ,processed by a Arduino nano/breadboard arduino and transmit it wirelessly through a RF transmitter.

DHT11 Connection :

DHT11 sensor have 4 pins : 1­>Vcc ,2­>Data ,3­>NC ,4 ­>GND

DHT11 ­­>ARDUINO

Vcc­­>5VData­­>D8NC ­­> No connectionGND­­>GNDConnect a 10K resistor between VCC and Data pin of DHT11

RF Transmitter Connection :

The RF transmitter has 3 pins ( VCC,Data and GND).

RF Transmitter ­­>ARDUINO

VCC ­­> 5VData­­>D11GND­­>GND

Note : Add a antenna in the RF transmitter to increase the range.click here(http://www.instructables.com/id/ARDUINO­WIRELESS­HOME­SECURITY­SYSTEM/step9/How­to­Increase­The­Range/)

After connecting every thing, upload the Tx_code attached bellow

Tx_code.txt (/files/orig/FQS/YAB6/HZV3O6IZ/FQSYAB6HZV3O6IZ.txt)1 KB

Step 8: MAKE A ENCLOSURE FOR Tx MODULE

(http://www.instructables.com/files/deriv/F5K/W6C2/HZS901YX/F5KW6C2HZS901YX.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F5L/CXSH/HZQTDNDE/F5LCXSHHZQTDNDE.LARGE.jpg)

I used a plastic box for transmitter module enclosure.

Make a hole in the top side of the plastic box for inserting wire from the solarpanel.

Make small holes in the side wall (opposite face) for ingress of fresh air ( tomeasure the accurate data ).see the pics.

Place the charging circuit (made earlier) inside the box.

Take out the wires from li ion battery charger (IN+ and IN­)

Solder the positive terminal of solar panel to the positive terminal of diode andnegative terminal of the diode to the red wire from the the charger.

Solder the black wire to the solar panel negative terminal.

For mounting the solar panel and battery holder I used skotch mounting pad.Themini bread board have inbuilt pad to stick.

Use tap to stick the wire firmly.

Connect the 5V (+) and GND (­) terminals of boost converter to the bread boardred rail(+) and blue rail (­) respectively.

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To test it expose to sunlight ,you will see red led in all (arduino,boostconverter,charging) the boards will glow.

Step 9: RECEIVER

The receiver module receive the weather data by a RF receiver and it isprocessed by Arduino UNO .The processed data is displayed through a 20x4char LCD display.You can also choose a 16x2 LCD also.The main reason forusing a 20x4 char LCD is display is that I can display large number of weatherparameters.

I add a I2C module to the LCD for reducing the number of connection witharduino (requires only 4 wires).

If you don't have a I2C module go to my tutorial on LCD tutorial for connectionand example code.

LCD connection :

The I2C LCD have only 4 pins (GND,VCC,SDA,SCL)

LCD­­>ARDUINO

GND­­>GNDVCC­­>5VSDA­­>A4SCL­­>A5

RF receiver Connection:

The RF receiver has 3 pins ( VCC,Data and GND).RF Receiver ­­>ARDUINO

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FBZ/F9SJ/HZS8SW5J/FBZF9SJHZS8SW5J.LARGE.jpg)

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VCC ­­> 5V Data­­>D11GND­­>GND

Note : Add a antenna in the RF receiver to increase the range.click here(http://www.instructables.com/id/ARDUINO­WIRELESS­HOME­SECURITY­SYSTEM/step9/How­to­Increase­The­Range/http://www.instructables.com/id/ARDUINO­WIRELESS­HOME­SECURITY­SYSTEM/step9/How­to­Increase­The­Range/)

After connecting every thing upload the Rx_code attached bellow

Rx_code.txt (/files/orig/F3S/72IM/HZS8WTVS/F3S72IMHZS8WTVS.txt)3 KB

Step 10: MAKE A ENCLOSURE FOR Rx MODULE

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FL2/SZ24/HZS8WLKU/FL2SZ24HZS8WLKU.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F8G/8IWZ/HZS8WLU9/F8G8IWZHZS8WLU9.LARGE.jpg)

The receiver enclosure is card board box.

Mark the outline of lcd by using a pencil or marker.

Cut the marking portion by using a hobby knife.

Insert the lcd in to the cutting portion of the box.

Hard gue on the back side of the lcd to hold it firmly

Place the bread board receiver module prepared in the previous step.

I use a 12V dc adapter for powering the arduino uno.Make a hole in the backside of the card board box for inserting the dc adapter cable.

Step 11: POWER OPTIMIZATION BY USING SLEEP MODE

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The weather data does not change frequently.So we can take reading at aninterval of 5mins.As we are taking readings at regular intervals, it is a fantasticway to save lots of power. A system with appropriate sleep schedules can runfor several months on just two AA batteries.We are so lucky that Arduino hasseveral sleep modes that can be used to reduce power consumption.

This is most useful for any sensor networks.You can use this tricks in any ofyour stand alone sensor project.

After searching through the internet for using the sleep modes, I found a simplebut powerful library by Rocket Scream has a Lightweight Low Power library supports all AVR powerdown modes. Each mode has an associated library method that lets you controlsleep duration using the watchdog timer.For a novice programmer like me it isvery simple and easy to use.

How to use LowPower Library :

1. Download the library from GitHub (https://github.com/rocketscream/Low­Power)2.Extract the zip file to the arduino library in your computer.3.Import the library in your code. 4.Write the following one line code for power saving."LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_1S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF) ; "

You can also pass different arguments to shut off individual peripherals. Fordifferent argument and sleep time refer the table provided by Lightweight LowPower Arduino Library(http://www.rocketscream.com/blog/2011/07/04/lightweight­low­power­arduino­library/).

example code :

#include "LowPower.h"void setup() // No setup is required for this library void loop() // Sleep for 8 s with ADC module and BOD module off LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_8S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF); // Do something here // Example: read sensor, log data, transmit data

Lets use it in the blink code of arduino IDE example

Apply "LowPower library" in Blink code

#include "LowPower.h" // import the lowpoer libraryint led = 13; void setup() pinMode(led, OUTPUT); void loop() digitalWrite(led, HIGH);

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LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_1S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF); // instead ofdelay(1000) ; digitalWrite(led, LOW); LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_1S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF); // instead ofdelay(1000) ; Before using the Lowpower library current taken by arduino

51.7mA when led is ON47mA when led is OFF

After using the Lowpower library current taken by arduino

34.93mA when led is ON31.73mA when led is OFF

Are you happy to reduce 32.43 % power ?? Hey there is still room to reduce thepower consumption.Your arduino board have different power sucking components like powerled,voltage regulator and USB interface chip which takes most of the powereven when it is idle.For other alternatives see the next step.

Step 12: Alternatives for Power saving

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>> The simplest method to reduce the power consumption is by passing thevoltage regulator in the Arduino board.

Buy a separate boost regulator circuit and connect its output to the 5 volt pin onthe Arduino board, which bypasses the 5 volt regulator on board.This procedureis used in our project.

>> using a "bare bones" board instead of arduino board.>> Disable the unnecessary led >> If you do not need time accuracy, then use the Atmega 328 internal 8MHzcrystal instead of a external 16Mhz crystal.

>> Operate Atmega 328 at 3.3V instead of 5V

>>Turn off sensor as soon as possible

To know more details on arduino power saving techniques click here

The maximum power saving is done by using a Bare bones board.By using abare bone board the power consumption can be reduced to micro amps levelduring sleep period.You can see the above figure.

You can easily make this on a bread board by following the links bellow :

1.Arduino on a Breadboard (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Standalone)

2.Arduino to a Microcontroller on a Breadboard(http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/ArduinoToBreadboard)Make bare bone pcb board by following the links bellow :Single Sided Really Bare Bones Board Arduino in EAGLE(http://www.instructables.com/id/Single­Sided­Really­Bare­Bones­Board­Arduino­in­EA/)I will highly recommend for the bare bone board for any battery driven projects (like sensors).

Step 13: Battery Life Estimation

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We have a be nice comment policy. Please be positive and constructive.

The battery life can be calculated by determining the average current for thecircuit.

Use the following general equation to calculate average current.

Iavg = (Ton*Ion + Tsleep*Isleep ) / (Ton +Tsleep)

Ton (arduino is active ) = 250 ms =0.25s and Ion = 16mA

Tsleep = 5min =300s and Isleep = 200 uA (approx)

It is very difficult measure the current during the sleep period .Some time I gotzero reading.

Iavg = 0.205 mA

Operating Voltage =5 V

Pavg=VxIavg =5x.205=1.026 mW

Li Ion battery capacity =3000 mAh

Battery voltage =3.7V

Power =3.7x3000=11100 mWh

Battery life = 11100/1.026 =10,818.7 hours = 15 months approximately

From the above calculation it is clear that theoretically by using a fully charged3000 mAh Li Ion battery we can run the arduino for 15 months.In practical due tobattery self discharge this figure may be different.

As the system is equipped with solar charging system ,we can run for few yearswithout any interruption.

I hope you enjoyed by reading my tutorial.Please comments if any mistakefound.

This project is entered in 3 competitions,please vote for me.

Thank you so much.

Automatic WeatherStationAffordable weather stationswith cloud reporting softwareand app

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marciokoko (/member/marciokoko/)

Your total capacity is 3000 mah because you have 2 pairs of series wiredcells. One pair has 1300mah plus the other pair is 2600mah. I guess yourounded up. I have 1 LiPo 3.7V and 380 mah pack. If your 2600mah pack lastsfor 18 months without charge, that means that my 380mah pack should last forat least 1.8 months without charge. Which is irrelevante unless the sun doesntcome out for 1.8 months for a total time of about 16 hours, correct?

donjose77 (/member/donjose77/)

Beautiful project! I'm stuck with the receiver :( I just see a blank screen anddon't know what to do. Everything looks ok, but I can't even show the icons!On the other hand, how can I be sure the transmitter is transmitting?

Thanks!

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deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) donjose77

You can confirm it by checking your receiver arduino serial monitor.

connect your receiver arduino to the PC through a USB cable,openarduino IDE and see the serial monitor.If you receive the data then itconfirm transmitter is transmitting.

donjose77 (/member/donjose77/) deba168

Thanks for the advice, but the problem was that lcd doesn't showanything until it receives data from transmiter. So if I power thetransmiter first, I would have to wait 5 minutes until getting data (orpress reset). Once I have discovered it, everything is ok ;)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F4B/35G3/ID0PUAT2/F4B35G3ID0PUAT2.LARGE.jpg)

AlbertJ (/member/AlbertJ/)

I tried a few different DHT.h libraries. Google "github adafruit DHT sensorlibrary". It worked best for me.

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) AlbertJ

Thank you for suggestion.Can you share some pics of your project?

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How can we turn off the LEDs on the Boost Converter and the Li Ion Batterycharging board?

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) Volthaus Electronics Laboratory

If you do not want it.I will suggest to desolder itfrom the board carefully

Mjtrinihobby (/member/Mjtrinihobby/)

Extremely well engineered! Very few projects I read of that are executed soexquisitely. You are a great role model in your country!

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) Mjtrinihobby

Thank You for apreciation.

iced2 (/member/iced2/) deba168

A budos kurva anyad kis indiai geci, mocskos ciganygeci bofogje maide vmit ha hozzad beszelnek tetves szajbabaszott geci.

Ezt a projectet tuti lenyultad vkitol mert ha kerdek vmit te szart se tudszh moddold.

Baszodja meg osszes szarboru gecivel egyutt az orszagodba

Mjtrinihobby (/member/Mjtrinihobby/) deba168

From one engineer to another, a creative mind is the best thing ever.

SupremeWa (/member/SupremeWa/)

Hello, great project.

I have some questions about solar charging:I use arduino uno instead of arduino nano. I use:

3.7 V Lithium battery5.5V Solar panel 5 V Lithium Battery Charging Board

What dc boost converter i should usem for my arduino nano. I have 0,9 to 5 Vdc Boost but i think that it is not enough. Maybe i should use 9V panel and 2*3,7 V battery, but can't find Lithium BatteryCharging Board for the batteries.

What do you advise me?Thanks for your help in advance :)

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) SupremeWa

You can run your Arduino with parts which you have now :)

Connect the boost converter output to Arduino 5V pin instead of Vin.

SupremeWa (/member/SupremeWa/) deba168

thank you for your response :) Can you give me more information why ishould connect the boost converter output to Arduino 5V pin instead ofVin :)

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) SupremeWa

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When you give power to Vin,there is a inbuilt voltage regulator whichstep down the voltage to 5V. But problem is that it waste energy in theform of heat.When you apply directly to 5V pin,it bypass the voltageregulator.

SupremeWa (/member/SupremeWa/) deba168

very good explanation. thanks for everything :)

iced2 (/member/iced2/)

Hello

It's a quite nice project. After reading this I gave up with the original idea ofusing an rpi model A to build the weatherstation because it is an overkill and Ihave other arduino hooked on a server already which could receive the RFdata.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry­Pi­Solar­Weather­Station/

I have 2 questions regarding your project:

1, Daylight indication

This would be one important thing my station needs to provide because Iplanning to control lights inside my house relying on the sensor data.As I can see you have no daylight sensitivity sensor in your setup, manysimple circuits like those solar lights which turn on at night use the currentcoming out of the solar panel directly to determine whether to turn on the lightsor not. I was thinking on would it be possible to get the same incoming voltagedata in your setup from the solar panel itself and using those numbers?Once again I don't need dead precise thing here but I think that your regulatorcircuit hides this data from the Arduino... In this case I would just buy anotherlight detection sensore and hook it up to the ardu...

2, Anemometer buildin

I would like to hook one of these up, not the Adafruit because it's expensivebut just a cheap chinese alternative:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wind­Speed­Sensor­Anemometer­Three­Cups­Aluminium­Alloyed­pulse­signal­output­/281265660069?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417cbd60a5

Supply voltage: DC 12­24 V

This would require to redesign your setup completely, use bigger solar panel,battery bank etc. Now I saw other anenometers which require even less inputvoltage. Why do these even need input voltage? Why cant they just provideanything let's say voltage in range of 0­5V depending on wind speed. Do youhave any experience hooking these up to the ardu?

Thank you

cristian_200sx (/member/cristian_200sx/)

Hi, i've bough the same solar panels and battery charger, but the solar panel gives about 6,10V at full sun. did your solar panel give the same output?Can i use the charger? the max input is 5,5v...

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) cristian_200sx

Tell me your solar panel rating.

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cristian_200sx (/member/cristian_200sx/) deba168

This is my solar panel:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261486100708?_trksid=p2057...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/261486100708?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

And when i measure it with the tester at full sun i get about 6.10V

bubek (/member/bubek/)

Hello deba168.I have a question for you.I'm making this as my school project and i'm stuck in arduino programming.Where can i get this files:#include <Wire.h> // use Wire library for protocol i2c (A4 = SDA & A5 = SCL)

#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h> // use LiquidCrystal_I2C library for control LCDon i2c protocol

#include <VirtualWire.h> // use Virtual library for decode signal from Rxmodule

Thank you very much.

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) bubek

First download the library and then import it.You can go through thefollowing tutorial to know how to do it.

https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/arduino_libraries/Virt...(https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/arduino_libraries/VirtualWire.zip)

https://bitbucket.org/fmalpartida/new­liquidcryst(https://bitbucket.org/fmalpartida/new­liquidcrystal/downloads)

I think arduino have default wire.h library.

StrangeRand (/member/StrangeRand/)

Thanks, your project inspired me to build similar weather station for my home.But I have one question. You probably know that it's prohibited to charge the LiIon/Ni Mh batteries when the battery temperature is less then 0°С.How did you solve this problem?

macniven (/member/macniven/)

Fantastic work! I am planning on building an automatic plant irrigation systemfor our garden and also want it to be solar powered. This really helps alot,thank you!

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) macniven

Glad you like my work :)

Best of luck for your project.

mimhs (/member/mimhs/)

Thank you! Very good and clear instructions and info.

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) mimhs

My pleasure :)

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billbillt (/member/billbillt/)

Another wonderful and complete project by you.... You explain everything upfront so your projects will work..... Mazel Tov!....

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) billbillt

Thank You :)

chris.chatzigiannakis (/member/chris.chatzigiannakis/)

Great tutorial has been of great help for me.I would like you to help me decidewhat battery + solar panel i should use to power up my project.

My parts are still being shipped so i have not yet measured the consumption ofthe project but generally i want to power an arduino uno board having aDHT11 sensor and a load cell attached to it.Also attached to the arduino willbe a GSM shield and a solar charger shield.I have read your tutorial and i wishi had earlier before ordering some parts.I now know that my pick of a 5v solarpanel is wrong to charge the 9v battery that i choose!!! :)I would like if youhave time to advice me which parts to change(solar panel ­ battery)considering that the aim of my project is:

The arduino to be able to tranfer the data from the DHT11 sensor and load cellthrough GSM shield by sending a text once per day to a phone number.Powersaving options for the arduino are neccessary as in your project.

Here is the part list:

Arduino UNO:www.ebay.com/itm/300948763268?_trksid=p2060778.m27...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/300948763268?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

GSM Shield: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281610253054?_trksid=p206...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/281610253054?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Load Cell:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221706878268?_trksid=p2060...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/221706878268?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

DHT11:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181681482206?_trksid=p2060...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/181681482206?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Solar Charger Shield:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221482837278?_trksid=p2060...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/221482837278?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Battery :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390980067007?_trksid=p2060...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/390980067007?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Solar Panel :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400752240194?_trksid=p2060...(http://www.ebay.com/itm/400752240194?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Thanks a Lot

I am looking forward in hearing from you,

Chris

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) chris.chatzigiannakis

Hey your battery and solar panel combination willnot work.The solar panel voltage should be morethan battery voltage.Just cancel the battery.Buy a18650 (3.7V ) battery and charging board as Ihave mentioned in my parts list.

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chris.chatzigiannakis (/member/chris.chatzigiannakis/) deba168

Thanks a lot for your response it has been ofgreat help.

But whats wrong with the solar charger shieldthat i ordered and i also need a charging board?

ethan.mamer (/member/ethan.mamer/)

Thanks for the Instructable, I think it will be exceedingly useful!

I got a little confused going between the 1300mah NiMH batteries and the3000mah Li Ion battery. What solar power specifications do you recommendfor the 3000mah Li Ion Battery? 5v 400mah?

Also, could a ds18b20 be easily substituted in without much head ache?

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) ethan.mamer

You can use solar panel with voltage 5 to 6V /400mA.

Yeah you can also use DS18B20 with some modification in code asper the data sheet.

ian.croll (/member/ian.croll/)

Really enjoying your direction and design choices. I'm new to electronics andsolar and it's great to bite into something this interesting and practical. Once Iget it working I'll try modifications. Thank you:)

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) ian.croll

Glad you enjoy my tutorial :)

atkers (/member/atkers/)

I don't understand something about this.

Battery pack used is 1.2x2 = 2.4vLi­ion charger module provides 4.2v

So how is this precise and not out of range?Because the instructor says it has to be precise voltage when charging.

Thanks!

deba168 (/member/deba168/) (author) atkers

The NiMh battery (AA) are rated for 1.2V.I used a pack of two inseries.So the voltage is 2.4V

The Li Ion battery (18650) are rated for 3.7 but when fully charged givearound 4.2V

The charging of Li Ion battery needs a charging circuit for charging .Ifanything goes wrong it may leads to explosion.

atkers (/member/atkers/) deba168

Ah I see! Thanks for explaining.

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