Environmental Monitoring Station Powered by a Solar Panel
Materials
- Sensors
- Air pressure
BMP280 - Temperature and humidity
HDC1080 - UV-intensity
TSL & VML - Fine dust
SDS
- Air pressure
- Solar panel
- 3.7V LiPo battery
- Adafruit Powerboost 1000C
- Wifi/LoRa Bee
- Fire Bag (optional)
- Power switch (optional)
Setup
First you build up the senseBox as usual. You can look things up in the instruction manual benutzen. To make sure the senseBox is using the battery and the battery is charged meanwhile, you need the Adafruit Powerboost 1000C.
The power switch should be connected to the powerboost. You need solder hardware for this. How exactly this is done, can be read here.
Now we can use the power switch to regulate the input from the solar panel to the battery. In this example a hole is drilled into the case, so you can access it whenever you want. Power Switch (optional)
Programming
There is nothing special to be programmed in this example. As long as the power supply is working you can use every sketch from the previous sections. In regards to the LoRa-bee you should first check if there is a network around. Also you have to register on the TTN website to gain an access key. All of this is covered in our LoRa bee tutorial.
Usage
After 2 days of testing with a rather big 6600 mAh battery, it shows that with sufficient sunlight (2-3 hours a day) the battery remains at least at constant charge level. This means that if you want to operate the station in the open without main power supply, this is very well possible with the help of a solar cell, even a long time without direct sunlight can be intercepted with a large battery. You should only clean the cell once in a while, as pollen or dirt will settle there.