Description
ABSTRACT
This work is on a solar powered weather station with solar tracking and real time data tracking. The aim of this project is to develop a solar-powered automatic weather station (AWS), which collect and stores data using IoT technology which can be accessed via the website. With this device, the users can find out the weather changes in an area without the need of coming to the area and can do an analysis of irrigation water needs. This design uses ESP32 as main processor. The measure weather parameters include temperature and humidity using BME280 sensor, wind speed using an anemometer sensor, wind direction using a wind vane sensor, air pressure using BME280, rainfall using a tipping bucket sensor, and the last small solar panel for irradiance sensor. AWS has two working modes, normal and maintenance mode. During maintenance mode, sensor data will be displayed on a local website that can be accessed via a wifi network broadcasted by ESP32. In normal mode, the ESP32 will send sensor data to the cloud using SIM800L GPRS Module. The system proposed is also designed to have a feature to log sensor data locally in SD card. Data transmission is carried out periodically with an interval of 5-6 minutes. Test results show that the sending of sensor data can be received by the cloud with an acceptance rate of up to 98%.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE
TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
- PROBLEM STATEMENT
- AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
- SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
- PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
- LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
- REVIEW OF RELATED WORKS
- EXISTING SYSTEM MODEL
- OVERVIEW OF WHEATHER
- CAUSES WEATHER CHANGE
- EFFECT OF WEATHER ON HUMANS
- EFFECTS OF WEATHER ON POPULATIONS
- WEATHER FORECASTING
- REVIEW OF MODIFICATION
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 MATERIALS AND METHOD
- MATERIALS
- METHOD
CHAPTER FOUR
- RESULT AND DISCUSSION
CHAPTER FIVE
- CONCLUSION
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Energy production from the Industrial Revolution to the present day, has been focused on the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, a tendency followed by such emerging powers as China and India which are replicating the pernicious growth model of industrialized countries [Bicer et al, 2018]. This leads inevitably to two great consequences. Some authors state that the main reason for the progressive exhaustion of natural resources is their overexploitation [Zhao et al, 2018]. Other possible cause is the uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly CO2 and CH4, associated to the combustion of fossil fuels until an atmospheric concentration of 413 ppm is reached, that causes an average increase of 1 ◦C in the planet’s temperature and that are precursors of the climate change [Bohelert et al, 2016]. As a result, it seems inexorable that developed civilizations must begin a transaction to growth models based on sustainable and durable development without compromising the possibilities of future generations, based on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy. All this in the technological context, where new agents that model the next decades of the world energy scenario appear: distributed generation, smart buildings, nearly zero-energy buildings or massive processing of environmental data [Madruga et al, 2018].
To properly scale facilities based on renewable energy it is necessary to have the most reliable systems that collect and process environmental data that can be adjusted to any project [Poggi et al, 2018]. So far, the dimensioning of the installations and their models have been based on tabulated databases, indirect or interpolated taken measurements and approximate graphics that model the meteorological behavior of a determined region, that are valid, but there is scope for improvement to use ad hoc values [Anoune et al, 2018]. Different authors have tried to improve the capture and treatment of meteorological magnitudes for use in industry, using software with greater data processing capacity or through new systems able to measure environmental variables [Geuder et al, 2019]. Among all the possible variables, the following ones are especially relevant for use in a renewable energy context: solar irradiance, geomagnetic positioning, wind speed, ambient temperature, relative air humidity, air quality, barometric pressure, rain and hail [Agüera et al, 2018].
Climate measurements using traditional monitoring systems require qualified labour and regular equipment maintenance. For this reason some authors have tried to design and implement wireless low cost weather stations equipped with different types of sensors that permit one to establish fluent communication and to register and upload data online to a server for its processing [Devaraju et at, 2015]. Although it is true that all data recording systems are conditioned by the sensitivity of measuring equipment, some authors have proposed the use of systems based on diffuse control logic that allows adaptation to environmental conditions and established functional models of the devices that affect their measurement rates [Devaraju et at, 2015]. Nevertheless, not only big renewable energy production plants are interested in the study and control of environmental parameters. The building sector offers a great potential for the energy savings, where it is necessary to have accurate weather data in the exact location where the building is being built in order to improve the calibration of energy simulation programs, thus obtaining more reliable energy demand and change results that can influence more efficient design [Devaraju et at, 2015].
Thus, various researchers have tried to implement systems able to obtain specific, efficient and reliable climate condition data with minimum human effort. These devices must be amenable to be calibrated in order to adapt to the latitude and altitude, where they are placed. Only in this way can they report reliable data for investigation or industrial applications to be devised which measures the Internal Temperature, Humidity, Barometric Pressure, External Temperature, Wind Speed, Wind Direction, Rain Gauge, Lux Level using sensors.
Weather data collection is very important in agricultural sector. Collecting data is one of the critical stages in the development of modern irrigation system software. The need for hydrological and hydro-climatological data in irrigation areas is needed to make decisions regarding irrigation management appropriately. Weather parameter information such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall at a specific location and time must be known quickly to support irrigation system [Bonfante et al, 2019].
Data collection requires special equipment installed at the observation site. The solution to this problem is the implementation of the use of Internet of Things devices. Internet of Things or commonly abbreviated as IoT is a system where devices are connected & integrated [Javed, 2016]. This research aims to design a solar-powered automatic weather station system using an ESP32 microcontroller and a GPRS module. The system being designed must have an independent energy source because of its location far from residential areas. Also, the use of connection devices must adjust to conditions where there is no 3G/4G signal so that the use of the GPRS module is a solution. The designed system can retrieve data as needed and then send it to the cloud server to analyze irrigation modernization needs. The hope is that with the fulfillment of data needs, the modern irrigation system can be appropriately implemented to increase agricultural products’ quality and quantity.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The use of conventional power supply in weather monitoring is conditioned by the use of fossil fuels that have a great environmental impact and huge cost. In the last decades, renewable energy production systems have been implemented, and networks of nearly zero-energy buildings have been created, with a consequent complexity in the design phase in order to optimize the results. In this way, electronic prototype development methods like the one that is proposed in this paper improve the tasks of design and modelling. Thus, a new weather station based on an renewable energy and IoT platform have been developed to collect and store ambient temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and air quality data, comparing the obtained data to those obtained using a validation station containing commercial sensors.
1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this work involves the use of sensors and IoT technology to collect and store weather information. The device measures weather parameters include temperature and humidity using BME280 sensor, wind speed using an anemometer sensor, wind direction using a wind vane sensor, air pressure using BME280, rainfall using a tipping bucket sensor, and the last small solar panel for irradiance sensor.
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to develop a solar-powered automatic weather station (AWS), which can be accessed via the website, that has the capacity of finding out the weather changes in an area without needing to come to the area and can do an analysis of irrigation water needs. This design uses ESP32 as main processor. The objectives are:
- To collect and store weather information wirelessly.
- To reduce human labour
- To develop an efficient and reliable climate condition data with minimum human effort using sensors.
1.5 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The purpose of this work is to advanced solution for monitoring of weather using advance technology- Internet of Things (IoT) and multiple sensors.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
Two things are necessary to view this weather reporting over the Internet. One is the Internet and another is a device to access a URL / website. This device can be laptop or desktop or a tablet or even a smartphone. And that Internet connectivity is required at both places. One where is project is placed and another from where user monitors this data.
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 CONCLUSION
The development and implementation of a solar-powered automatic weather station for the data needs of agricultural (irrigation) system management using the ESP32 and the GPRS module are capable of providing the user with weather situation and conditions prevailing in and around the agriculture field. The use of the ESP32 as the processor in this design is also a very appropriate choice because of the availability of a wifi feature that can be used for maintenance mode which makes it very easy for users to perform the stages before installation. Developing the system proposed is the first step in implementing the modernization in the agriculture sector. As a future enhancement, along with the increasing number of weather stations, using Lora technology will save development costs. Also, by using Lora, the data loss rate will be reduced.
