How is Soil Moisture Sensor Important for the Plants?
Posted by UBiBot USA on Mar 30th 2022
Soil moisture sensors use to measure the moisture levels in soil and agriculture. They can help measure the amount of water available to plants and can be used to determine when they need water.
People also use it in their greenhouses to monitor the soil moisture and control irrigation systems. You can also make a plant watering gadget with it. This gadget will tell you when your plant needs water by sending data to your phone.
What is Soil Moisture Sensor?
Soil Moisture Sensor is an inbuilt sensor that measures the amount of moisture in your soil. The sensor measures the relative humidity or simply RH and then uses this to decide if you need to water your plants or not. It gives you a basic idea of how much water is present in your soil. It has two probes connected to it, and these probes are inserted into the soil.
The sensor has a capacitance type measuring system that uses two conductive plates. One is called drive, and the other is sense electrode. As the moisture content in the soil increases, the drive plate will draw more current from the sense plate. As the soil gets drier, the amount of current drawn by the drive plate will decrease.
It is possible to read the output of your sensor using an analog input port on an Arduino board, which gives out a voltage proportional to how much moisture is present in your soil. This value can then be used in your program to decide whether or not you should turn on your sprinkler!
Soil Moisture Sensor is an Arduino compatible sensor that measures relative soil moisture
Many home automation projects can benefit from this sensor. For example, you can use this sensor to make your flower watering system or program it to report the moisture level in your garden automatically.
The basic idea is this: electricity feels very different in dry soil than it does in wet soil (it's called electrical resistance). So by measuring how water affects electricity to flow through the soil, we can precisely measure how much water is there.
Types of Soil Moisture Sensor
There are many different types of soil moisture sensors, but most fall into one of two categories:
●Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)
●Capacitance
The TDR method uses an electrical pulse sent through the soil with wires. The time it takes for the pulse to travel through the soil and return to its point of origin determines whether or not water is present in the soil. Capacitance sensors measure how much water can be held in the soil by sending an electrical signal.
There are two significant types of soil moisture sensors: those that measure "volumetric" water content (the total volume of water in a given area) and those that measure "gravimetric" water content (the amount of water in a given weight/mass). The type you choose will depend on your specific needs.
Water is critical to the survival of plants
It is vital to monitor and control the water they grow, as too little or too much can be harmful. Sensors measure and control soil moisture levels.
They can be used for various applications, including irrigation control, lawn sprinkler systems, and crop monitoring.
Have you ever had a plant that wouldn't grow?
You water it and give it sunlight, but still, nothing? Well, chances are, you're giving the poor thing too much or too little water.
Enter: the soil moisture sensor. This handy little tool can tell you exactly how wet your soil is so that you can adjust your watering schedule appropriately. By measuring moisture content over time, you can learn about your plants' watering needs and maintain optimal hydration levels for every plant in your house.