Design and Implementation of A Low Cost Mini Weather Monitoring System
Design and Implementation of A Low Cost Mini Weather Monitoring System
By
Ukhurebor K. E and Azi S. O
Department of Physics, Edo University Iyamho,
Edo State, Nigeria
1
Outline
Introduction
Literature review
Findings
Contribution to Knowledge
References
2
Introduction
The study of weather is as old as the creation; it has always had a significant
influence on the lives of people and shaped their cultures, habits, attitudes,
behaviour and their environments in general. Weather is mostly influenced by
the following factors:
i. Location latitude
ii. Elevation
iii. Proximity to water bodies (Karl, 2014; Ukhurebor et al., 2017).
Weather has always been a universal concern and a major force of nature that
has influenced mankind in a very authoritative approach for an elongated period
of time and the recent changes in the climate are becoming issues of great
concern (Akhilesh et al., 2015; Parvez et al., 2016).
Man has always tried to find out the causes of different weather conditions he
finds himself in and possibly monitor and forecast what the weather would be at
any given time. Taking weather and trying to forecast it appropriately can make
a difference for the survival and prosperity of the human race (Ukhurebor et al.,
2017; Karl, 2014).
3
Introduction (Cont’d)
There cannot be a study of the weather neither its prediction without the
knowledge of the prevailing conditions of the atmosphere (Satyanarayana and
Mazaruddin, 2013; Susmitha and Sowmyabala, 2014).
Weather measuring, monitoring and forecasting holds great importance and has
uses in several areas and for this reason man has always devise different means of
measuring the various elements or parameters of the weather.
In the ancient times before the advancement in science and technology, weather
measurements, monitoring and predictions were mostly done by human
experiences over the cloud cover and the movements of the wind. Those involve in
agricultural activities were the ones mainly affected by the atmospheric weather
conditions (Dushyant and Sanjeev, 2013).
But with the advancement of technology, new methods and equipment have been
developed to measure, collect and monitor weather information and today a whole
field of study known as Meteorology is dedicated to it (Ukhurebor et al., 2017).
4
Introduction (Cont’d)
Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere. Its domain is the lower
atmosphere of the universe and its practice involves the daily cooperation of
every action in the atmosphere of the universe (Akpan et al., 2016).
In meteorology, the data collected are used in monitoring and forecasting the
weather; weather monitoring and forecasting which are useful in one way or the
other in the course of our daily activities (Akpan et al., 2016).
The climate of an area is known through the average weather over a long
period of time. Climate describes the average weather conditions over a longer
period of time usually calculated over a thirty year time period for a particular
region and time period (Dushyant and Sanjeev, 2013).
5
Introduction (Cont’d)
In describing the atmospheric conditions of a given place at any given time,
certain weather elements or parameters must be known, measured and
quantified (Pramod and Vaijanath, 2015; Popa and Iapa, 2011).
Some of the most crucial weather elements are temperature, relative humidity,
atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, precipitation, luminous
intensity. The weather and climate of any region is determined by these weather
parameters and the seasons.
7
Literature Review (Cont’d)
Authors Year Research Result Limitation
5. Nisha et al 2015 Zigbee Based Weather Weather monitoring ZigBee technology will
Monitoring System system to measured require more applications
some weather elements to execute it in small or
was designed using medium size due to some
ZigBee technology extra assembly required.
8
Literature Review (Cont’d)
Authors Year Research Result Limitation
8. Lo Conti et al 2015 A Weather The system uses X-band It was basically designed for
Monitoring weather radar that precipitation also the design
and construction setup was also
System for the monitors precipitation
considerably complex and
Study of fields with high expensive
Precipitation resolution in space and
Fields time
9
Statement of the Problem
10
Aim & Objectives
The aim of this research is to design a cost effective, flexible and portable mini weather
monitoring system that will be used to measure and monitor temperature, atmospheric
pressure, relative humidity, light intensity, dew point temperature, altitude
1. Design the circuit using Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller with some modern
reliable sensors and other components.
2. Write the code using the C++ computer programming language to program the
Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller with other components.
3. Use the system to log in weather data to ensure that the device measures weather data
periodically and log the data to a database.
5. Compare the readings from the weather monitoring system with those from the Centre
for Atmospheric Research (CAR) and online weather reports (Accu Weather Report).
11
Materials and Method
The project consists of two parts; the hardware and the software.
The software implementation involves; writing the code using the C++
computer programming language to program the Arduino Mega 2560
microcontroller with other components (simulation) from Proteus 8.
Figure 1 shows the method and approach of the system, Figure 2 shows the
circuit diagram of the weather monitoring system from the simulation from Proteus
8, while Figure 3 shows the snapshot of the designed mini weather monitoring
system.
12
Microcontroller
Microcontrollers and Computer boards are the very heart of any electronics
project; responsible for all the major operations. Whether you are building an
intelligent robot or a simple sensor, microcontrollers are required to carry out the
necessary operations.
13
Battery port
DS1307
RTC
SD Memory
Card
LCD
Display
14
Figure 2: Circuit Diagram of the Mini Weather Monitoring System from Proteus
15
Figure 3: Snapshot of the Designed Mini Weather Monitoring System
16
Results and Discussion
The components were mounted and embedded for testing to be carried out. It
was found that the system was working properly.
After which measurements was carried out to measure some weather parameters
in Benin City, Edo State Nigeria (Latitude: 6°20′17″N, Longitude: 5°37′32″E and
Elevation above sea level: 87.88 m ≈ 288 ft) between 1st March to 8th March,
2017 for validation purposes.
The results were analyzed and compared with weather data obtained from other
sources (the Centre for Atmospheric Research; CAR and online weather reports;
Accu Weather Report) are tabulated in Table 2 to Table 7 and Figure 4 to Figure 9
for the various weather elements respectively.
17
Results and Discussion (Cont’d)
The measured temperature was having percentage error of 0.87 and 1.31; the
measured relative humidity was having percentage error of 0 and 0.43; the
measured atmospheric pressure was having percentage error of 0.02 and 0.03; the
light intensity was having percentage error of 1.91 and 0.94 while the approximated
dew point temperature was having percentage error of 0.98 and 0.15 and the
calculated altitude was having percentage error of 0.06 and 0.05 for both CAR and
Accu Weather Report respectively.
18
Results and Discussion (Cont’d)
Where Td is the dew point, T is the temperature, RH is the relative humidity.
For the temperature range –40°C to 0°C, Tn = 272.62°C and m = 22.46 while
for the temperature range 0°C to 50°C, Tn = 243.12°C and m = 17.62. The
dew point value is calculated after receiving the air temperature and relative
humidity values from the weather station. The dew point value can be
calculated automatically from the computer using MATLAB after receiving
the temperature and relative humidity values (Dushyant and Sanjeev, 2013;
Renool, 2014).
With the measured pressure P and the pressure at sea level Ps e.g.
1013.25hPa, the altitude in meters can be calculated with the international
barometric formula;
19
Table 2: Temperature
Date Measured Average Temperature (o C) Source Average Temperature (o C)
CAR Accu Weather Report
01/03/2017 29 28 28
02/03/2017 28 28 27
03/03/2017 30 29 28
04/03/2017 30 30 31
05/03/2017 27 26 27
06/03/2017 28 29 28
07/03/2017 31 30 31
08/03/2017 32 33 32
20
Table 3: Relative Humidity
Date Measured Average Relative Humidity (%) Source Average Relative Humidity (%)
CAR Accu Weather Report
01/03/2017 70 71 72
02/03/2017 79 80 80
03/03/2017 87 87 86
04/03/2017 91 87 90
05/03/2017 99 99 98
06/03/2017 93 94 92
07/03/2017 83 83 85
08/03/2017 58 59 60
21
Table 4: Atmospheric Pressure
Date Measured Average Atmospheric Pressure Source Average Atmospheric Pressure (mbar)
(mbar)
CAR Accu Weather Report
22
Table 5: Luminous Intensity
Date Measured Average luminous intensity (cd) Source Average luminous intensity (cd)
CAR Accu Weather Report
23
Table 6: Dew Point Temperature
Date Approximated Average Dew Point (o C) Source Average Dew Point (o C)
CAR Accu Weather Report
01/03/2017 23.00 22 23
02/03/2017 23.80 24 23
03/03/2017 27.40 27 26
04/03/2017 28.20 28 29
05/03/2017 26.80 27 28
06/03/2017 26.60 27 26
07/03/2017 27.60 26 26
08/03/2017 23.60 24 25
24
Table 7: Altitude
Date Calculated Average Altitude (m) Source Average Altitude (m)
CAR Accu Weather Report
25
35
30
25
20
15
10 Measured CAR
5 On Line
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Figure 4: Temperature
120
100
80
60
40
Measured CAR
20
On line
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
30
25
20 Approximated
CAR
15
On line
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
28
Findings
From the results of this research, the following findings were made:
1. The results and data from the designed mini weather monitoring system
were in good conformity with data obtained from other sources.
2. The temperature and relative humidity have influence on the dew point
temperature.
29
Contribution to Knowledge
30
Conclusion
31
Suggestions for Further Studies
32
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Centre for Atmospheric Research (CAR) under the
auspices of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)
for their assistance hitherto.
We are also grateful to the Management of Edo University Iyamho, Edo State,
Nigeria.
33
References
Akhilesh Chawla, Tejas Bangera, Chinmay Kolwalkar and Mahalaxmi Bhat (2015)
‘Bluetooth Based Weather Station ’. International Journal of Engineering Trends and
Technology (IJETT), Volume 28, Number 2, Page 98-101.
34
References (Cont’d)
Krejcar O (2012) ‘Low cost weather station with remote control’. Applied Machine
Intelligence and Informatics (SAMI), 2012 IEEE 10th International Symposium,
doi:10.1109/SAMI.2012.6209011, Page 463-468.
Lanre Joseph Olatomiwa and Umoru Sam Adikwu (2012) ‘Design and
Construction of a Low Cost Digital Weather Station ’. AU J.T. 16(2): Technical Report 125,
Page 125-132
Lo Conti F, Pumo D, Incontrera A, Framcipane A, Noto L. V and La Loggia G
(2015) ‘A Weather Monitoring System for The Study of Precipitation Fields, Weather and
Climate in an Urban Area’. 11th International Conference on Hydroinformatics, DOI:
10.13140/2.1.1723.5847, Page 1-8.
Nisha Gahlot, Varsha Gundkal, Sonali Kothimbire and Archana Thite (2015)
‘Zigbee Based Weather Monitoring System’. The International Journal Of Engineering and
Science ,ISSN (e):2319-1813 ISSN (p):2319-1805, Volume 4, Issue 4, Page 61-66.
Okhakhu Poly Alens (2014) ‘Meteorological Services for Disaster Risk Prevention
and Mitigation in Nigeria’ Journal of Environment and Earth Science ISSN 2224-3216
(Paper) ISSN 2225-0948 (Online) Vol.4, No.8, Page 66-76.
35
References (Cont’d)
Parvez S. H, Saha J. K, Hossain M. J, Hussain H, Ghuri Md M. A,
Chowdhury T. A, Rahman M, Shuchi N. Z, Islam A, Hasan M and Paul B (2016)
‘A Novel Design and Implementation of Electronic Weather Station and Weather Data
Transmission System Using GSM Network’ . Article in WSEAS Transactions on
Circuits and Systems, Page 21-34.
Pengfei L, Jiakun L and Junfeng J (2010) ‘Wireless temperature monitoring
system Based on the ZigBee technology’. 2nd International Conference on Computer
Engineering and Technology, Vol. 1, Page 160–163.
Popa M and Iapa C (2011) ‘Embedded weather station with remote wireless
control’. Telecommunications Forum (TELFO R ) 22-24, Page 297- 300.
Pramod Arvind Kulkarni and Vaijanath V. Yerigeri (2015) ‘An Economical
Weather Monitoring System Based on GSM using Solar and Wind Energy’.
International Journal of Advanced Technology and Innovative Research Volume.07,
IssueNo.02, Page 263-268.
Roneel V. Sharan (2014) ‘Development of a Remote Automatic Weather Station
with a PC-based Data Logger’. International Journal of Hybrid Information
Technology Vol.7, No.1, Page 233-240.
36
References (Cont’d)
Satyanarayana G. V and Mazaruddin S.D (2013) ‘Wireless Sensor Based
Remote Monitoring System for Agriculture Using ZigBee and GPS’. Conference on
Advances in Communication and Control Systems, Page 110-114.
38