This is simple approach to an automated watering system using an Arduino Pro Mini, three individual water pumps and recycled potentiometers.
The system is based around an Arduino Pro Mini which every 12 hours checks the moisture of the attached plants and waters them for a set amount of time based on three control knobs. This ensures that if the plant has not consumed enough water during the 12 hour break, the pumps will not fire.
Apart from variable declarations the most important parts of the code - and perhaps the ones which can be of use to others delving into a similar project - is concerning the power consumption during breaks.
void loop() {
if (currentTime >= twelve) {
// ...
// Moisture checking and pump logic
// ...
} else {
currentTime = currentTime + 8;
LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_8S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);
}
}The Ardiuno code uses the LowPower library (https://github.com/rocketscream/Low-Power) which allows for the Arduino Pro Mini to run for several days on a battery power source. As well as utilizing some hardware hacks to the Arduino Pro Mini, explained at: http://www.home-automation-community.com/arduino-low-power-how-to-run-atmega328p-for-a-year-on-coin-cell-battery/