Solar-Powered Moisture Sensor and Irrigation System

October 19, 2016 | ProgressTH At a recent FARM HACK event at FabCafe Bangkok, our team developed a working prototype for a solar-powered, Arduino-driven, soil moisture sensor and irrigation system.


It has a moisture sensor that triggers a servo-driven valve to open or close. It draws power from a store-bought power bank that we charge with a solar panel running through a 5 volt regulator. The power bank needs to be able to charge a device while also charging. If not, the circuit will turn off your project while it's charging.

The prototype was just to demonstrate the concept but it was far from ready to actually go outside in a rooftop garden. So we designed a weatherproof 3D printed case.


Because it's for testing, we used hot glue to secure certain parts in place, while we used permanent friction welding to attach the box to the post.




Next we need to work out the bugs, test it semi-long term and improve it, before finally putting all the files up on Thingiverse.

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