• Home
  • Archive
  • Tools
  • Contact Us

The Customize Windows

Technology Journal

  • Cloud Computing
  • Computer
  • Digital Photography
  • Windows 7
  • Archive
  • Cloud Computing
  • Virtualization
  • Computer and Internet
  • Digital Photography
  • Android
  • Sysadmin
  • Electronics
  • Big Data
  • Virtualization
  • Downloads
  • Web Development
  • Apple
  • Android
Advertisement
You are here: Home » Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor : How Works, What to Buy

By Abhishek Ghosh August 2, 2018 10:42 pm Updated on August 2, 2018

Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor : How Works, What to Buy

Advertisement

Basic purpose of soil moisture sensors is determining percentage of water in soil, rater volumetric water content of soil mainly for watering plant. We commonly view certain type sensors in prototyping works on various websites and online stores. Basic questions which will come to mind to a newbie are – How Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor Works? What to Buy as Soil Moisture Sensor? We are trying to answer these questions in as easy language as possible. One should mae it clear – DHT 11, DHT21, DHT22 were humidity sensors for measuring relative humidity.

 

How Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor Works?

 

In general, we have few technologies which are commonly used to measure soil moisture.

Soil resistivity: We can measure how the soil resists the flow of electricity to indirectly determine the soil moisture. They have two exposed electrodes.
Soil capacitance: They also made of two electrodes like that of soil resistivity, but they are insulated. Soil can act as a dielectric material. With electrode we can use the basic principle – more will be water content, the higher will be the capacitance. In that way, we can indirectly determine the soil moisture.
Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR): We can measure the dielectric constant to indirectly determine the soil moisture. Time Domain Transmission (TDT) and Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) are other two types were dielectric constant is used to indirectly determine the soil moisture.
Galvanic cell: Water can work as electrolyte and produce electricity like Galvanic cell. Using that concept, we can indirectly determine the soil moisture.
Neutron moisture gauges: They are costly, bigger instruments. Neutron moderator is a medium which reduces the speed of fast neutrons. That moderator property of water utilized to estimate soil moisture content. In that way we can indirectly determine the soil moisture.

Advertisement

---

Where 2nd and 3rd in the above list differs? Frequency domain (FD) sensor actually can be of two types –
capacitance Electrical impedance. Our “soil capacitance” (2nd in the list) uses just basic principle. The classification academically not fully correct. The need of classification is to make the readers easily understand and also web search (Finding Arduino frequency domain sensor unlikely to bring product or easy to understand result).

The commonly found cheaper Arduino soil moisture sensor are based on the resistance of the soil between the electrodes. They use the first technology from our above list. They are not quite reliable and quickly degrade.

Second type of Arduino soil moisture sensors are capacitance/dielectric sensors. That means they use the second group of technology in our above list. There are many ways to measure capacitance. Like we can use capacitor’s reactance to form a voltage divider. That is basically similar to how resistors react OR, we can calculate the capacitance by creating an RC oscillator where the oscillation frequency is determined by the capacitance. To do so, we have to be charging the capacitor and detect the charge time. Capacitive sensors are not exactly difficult but more reliable than resistive ones. You can read something around Arduino and Capacitance measurement :

Vim
1
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/CapacitanceMeter

Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor How Works What to Buy

Chirp is an open source capacitive soil moisture sensor (Chirp actually is a plant watering alarm) :

Vim
1
2
http://wemakethings.net/chirp/
https://github.com/Miceuz/PlantWateringAlarm

 

Which Type of Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor to Buy?

 

As capacitance sensors measure capacitance, they do not have exposed electrodes and unlike measuring the sensors measuring resistance, they do not easily oxidize and degrade over time. Really reliable reading can be obtained if both of the above technologies are combined. However, such kind of ready to use soil moisture sensors not common and difficult for the newbies to find libraries.

In short, Arduino capacitive soil moisture sensors are practical to buy. More clearly, a certain open source analog model :

Vim
1
https://www.dfrobot.com/wiki/index.php/Capacitive_Soil_Moisture_Sensor_SKU:SEN0193

At the end we have enough open source resources. If you are slightly advanced reader, you may be interested to build “capacitance sensor” on PCB :

Vim
1
2
3
4
https://github.com/acolomitchi/cap-soil-moisture-v2
https://www.instructables.com/id/Automatic-Watering-System-With-Capacitive-Probe-an/
## read the comments to get idea in making process
http://zerocharactersleft.blogspot.com/2011/11/pcb-as-capacitive-soil-moisture-sensor.html

We hope that this article has helped you.

Tagged With how does arduino soil moisture sensor work , soil moisture sensor voltage galvanic cell , how does an arduino moisture sensor work , how an arduino soil moisture sensors works , fdr soil sensor basics , electrode used in soil moisture sensor , buy soil moisture sensor , buy humidity sensors for soil using adruino , arduino with soil moisture sensor with leds , arduino soil moisture lcd

This Article Has Been Shared 675 Times!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Abhishek Ghosh

About Abhishek Ghosh

Abhishek Ghosh is a Businessman, Surgeon, Author and Blogger. You can keep touch with him on Twitter - @AbhishekCTRL.

Here’s what we’ve got for you which might like :

Articles Related to Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor : How Works, What to Buy

  • Multiplexing vs. Charlieplexing : Basics & Example With Arduino

    Multiplexing, Charlieplexing decreases pin count in a cluster of LEDs.Here is Basic Theory on Multiplexing vs. Charlieplexing & Arduino code.

  • How To Convert LCD Display to LCD Serial Display For Arduino

    Here is How To Convert LCD Display to LCD Serial Display For Arduino. You Can Convert Your Existing LCD to Serial With a Simple Module or By Using Components.

  • Arduino WiFi Control of LED From Web Browser

    Working With ESP8266 Not Exactly Just Easy. Here is Circuit Diagram, Code to Setup Arduino WiFi Control of LED From Web Browser to Help New Users.

  • List of IC Which Are Commonly Used With Arduino

    Here is a List of IC Which Are Commonly Used With Arduino With Function in Brief. The intention is to buy few of them to keep DIY stock supply handy.

  • Is Learning 8051 Microcontroller Needed Despite Having Arduino?

    Is Learning 8051 Microcontroller Needed Despite Having Arduino? Depends on Who Are You! If You Need to Job, Yes. Itself 8051 is actually older & easy than Atmega.

Additionally, performing a search on this website can help you. Also, we have YouTube Videos.

Take The Conversation Further ...

We'd love to know your thoughts on this article.
Meet the Author over on Twitter to join the conversation right now!

If you want to Advertise on our Article or want a Sponsored Article, you are invited to Contact us.

Contact Us

Subscribe To Our Free Newsletter

Get new posts by email:

Please Confirm the Subscription When Approval Email Will Arrive in Your Email Inbox as Second Step.

Search this website…

 

Popular Articles

Our Homepage is best place to find popular articles!

Here Are Some Good to Read Articles :

  • Cloud Computing Service Models
  • What is Cloud Computing?
  • Cloud Computing and Social Networks in Mobile Space
  • ARM Processor Architecture
  • What Camera Mode to Choose
  • Indispensable MySQL queries for custom fields in WordPress
  • Windows 7 Speech Recognition Scripting Related Tutorials

Social Networks

  • Pinterest (24.3K Followers)
  • Twitter (5.8k Followers)
  • Facebook (5.7k Followers)
  • LinkedIn (3.7k Followers)
  • YouTube (1.3k Followers)
  • GitHub (Repository)
  • GitHub (Gists)
Looking to publish sponsored article on our website?

Contact us

Recent Posts

  • What is Voice User Interface (VUI) January 31, 2023
  • Proxy Server: Design Pattern in Programming January 30, 2023
  • Cyberpunk Aesthetics: What’s in it Special January 27, 2023
  • How to Do Electrical Layout Plan for Adding Smart Switches January 26, 2023
  • What is a Data Mesh? January 25, 2023

About This Article

Cite this article as: Abhishek Ghosh, "Arduino Soil Moisture Sensor : How Works, What to Buy," in The Customize Windows, August 2, 2018, February 1, 2023, https://thecustomizewindows.com/2018/08/arduino-soil-moisture-sensor-how-works-what-to-buy/.

Source:The Customize Windows, JiMA.in

PC users can consult Corrine Chorney for Security.

Want to know more about us? Read Notability and Mentions & Our Setup.

Copyright © 2023 - The Customize Windows | dESIGNed by The Customize Windows

Copyright  · Privacy Policy  · Advertising Policy  · Terms of Service  · Refund Policy

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT