Hi,
I’m working on a project where I plan to 3D print a flower pot with a water reservoir at the bottom of the for automatic watering of the plants. I plan to build a small pump in the bottom and have a water level sensor to know when the pot needs to be filled. My other idea is to run this off a battery and small solar panel built into the side of the pot.
So my question is what device would you recommend that could run off a battery and communicate to Hubitat? I was thinking about using the ESP8266 but I’m afraid the Wi-Fi would drain the battery too quickly.
From my research I think I need to use Zigbee or Zwave for low power consumption.
I bought a few of the ESP32-C6-DevKitM-1-N4 and was never able to get them to connect to Hubitat, and found other users had the same problem I did with those boards.
Any help would be appreciated!
What will it tell hubitat or what will hubitat control on this pot?
I built my own indoor irrigation, using a Zigbee relay board and small 5v pumps from Ebay. The board also runs off of 5v USB, so this is something you could plug into a powerbank, but I don't know how long it would run. I use a wall adapter. You can get those boards with one, two, or four relays. You probably need singles since the controller is under each pot itself.
Some of the pumps I run from Zigbee moisture sensors to water when the plants are dry, and some are just on timers to water on a schedule.
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You could install Tasmota on the ESP32-C6 and use it with Tasmota Sync drivers. Would give you the ability to read sensors and control relays attached to the ESP32-C6. I do this for various sensors and wifi switches/plugs. Works extremely well.
Tasmota does have some low power options, though never explored.
Another option is Zigbee Configurable Firmware running on TI CC2530 zigbee module. This is a lot more low level DIY/tinkering then Tasmota. I tried it a few years ago and it worked well, although I was integrating it with Zigbee2MQTT and node-red.
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I want alerts on when the pot needs to be filled and setup watering schedule for the pump output. Might check soil dryness and report it.
I’ll look into this option and see if I can get it working.
If your intent wasn't to expose yourself to many technology challenges I might suggest some basic solutions.
Instead of a pump use capillary action wicking using a traditional fabric wick from the reservoir in the base. That will self water. You can then use a battery powered zigbee water sensor to let you know when the water level is below a certain point. You could also have soil moisture sensors alert you, but that's probably later than a water level sensor could tell you and not the best to keep a wick working.
Gravity systems would probably impact your esthetic which I assume is make it look like it's not a self watering pot. But Blumat products are pretty good if you like low tech watering systems.
Blumat can also pull from a reservoir:
https://www.amazon.com/Blumat-Classic-Automatic-Watering-Stakes/dp/B0001IOZ98
I have both of these type sensors referenced (bought on Aliexpress). Soil moisture was more expensive.
Both work well for their intended purpose. The water leak sensor responds to a damp finger placed across it's probe, so you maybe be able to use it as as a water level (in a water tray) or as a soil moisture (buried at desired depth in soil). It simply gives a wet/dry output.
The true soil moisture sensor reports the actual moisture content of the soil as a percentage. Others have reported issues with this particular sensor but they have worked for me.
Note I am not a professional gardener by any sorts. The soil moisture sensors were for some of my wife's house plants. While the leak sensors were to detect water leaks.
There are Hubitat drivers for both on the custom apps and drivers forum.
Water leak sensor.
Soil moisture: Note, this sensor is large, 1.75" diameter x 7.25" tall inc. probes
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