9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FEATURE

Building a low-cost weather station

Tayná Ferreira Santos, Vitor Hugo Ferreira

BRAZIL©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/STOCKDEVIL, SUN AND WIND—©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/SUESSE

T
he study and construction of a low-cost weather station emerged from a scientific
initiation project, “Modeling and Analysis of a Wind-Photovoltaic Hybrid System
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 1/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

With the Application of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator in Urban Areas,”

developed at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). During the initial stages of this
project, there was a need to understand the climate data, which influence the development
and proper functioning of wind and photovoltaic systems. However, buying or having
access to such measuring equipment requires a high investment. As a result, we sought to
collect data related to wind generation and solar photovoltaic energy, such as wind speed,
irradiance, temperature, and air humidity, by constructing a low-cost weather station with
an Arduino Uno board, electronic sensors, and data storage in a memory card.
The weather station collects data about temperature, air humidity, and wind speed
through its sensors as well as voltage and current through a photovoltaic panel to obtain the
local irradiance. These measurements are monitored through the Arduino and stored on a
memory card every 15 min in the TXT file format. The clock module used in the Arduino
enables the identification of measurements by day and time.
The difficulty level for constructing the weather station is low, and it is appropriate for
undergraduate students who are attending their first courses at a university. This article
could be distributed at the beginning of some engineering undergraduate courses, such as
electrical, robotics, computing, automation, and mechanics. Assembling this weather
station would be an excellent undertaking for those interested in learning about and starting
a renewable energy project with the application of electronics and programming.
The project is also useful for teachers who seek to demonstrate elaborate concepts in a
more didactic way or carry out experiments on a small budget while addressing real
problems of daily life. It allows students to seek solutions, experience the scientific
method, observe phenomena, record data, formulate and test hypotheses, and draw their
own conclusions. This article will show, step by step, how to build a low-cost weather
station, including data collection and storage.

Photovoltaic panel
The first stage of assembly is the construction of the photovoltaic panel used to collect the
voltage and current data to obtain the local irradiance. In terms of cost and benefit,
polycrystalline silicon is the best material for the photovoltaic cells. Figure 1 shows the
polycrystalline cell, and the specifications used are provided in Table 1. Of the
specifications listed in Table 1, the open circuit voltage short-circuit current and maximum
power are the most important for choosing a cell/panel to be used in any photovoltaic
project, and they are commonly provided in advertisements for these materials.

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 2/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG1 A photovoltaic cell of polycrystalline silicon: the (a) front (negative side) and (b) back (positive side).

TABLE 1. The technical speci cations of the polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell.

is the maximum current that the module can produce under certain insolation and
temperature conditions when its terminals are short circuited. Because there is no voltage,
the electrical power is zero. is the maximum voltage that the module can produce under
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 3/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

certain conditions of insolation and temperature and occurs when the terminals are open.
Since there is no electric current, the electrical power supplied by the module is zero. is the
maximum electrical power that the module can provide under certain insolation and
temperature conditions. It corresponds to the product of the maximum power current and
the maximum power voltage
To verify the data indicated in the technical specification of the photovoltaic cell, a
multimeter should be used to measure and An example is presented in Fig. 2 and

FIG2 The measurements of the (a) and (b) of the photovoltaic cell.

We determined that the process of converting solar energy into electric energy occurs
with approximately 15.69% efficiency, based on data from Table 1 and the formula for
calculating the efficiency of the cell:

PMPP
η = × 100%
AG
0.62
= × 100%
0.052 × 0.076 × 1, 000

≅15.69% (1)

To construct a photovoltaic panel of approximately 11 W of power, 16 photovoltaic cells

are required. The 16 cells must be connected in series, and, according Table 1, will provide
a of 8.5 V (16 × 0.53 V), an of 1.26 A, and a of 10.7 W (P = V × I).
Figure 3 shows the series connection of photovoltaic cells, which must be completed with
the help of a soldering iron, tab wire, and flow pen. The tab wire is a tin ribbon, and the use
of the flow pen will allow the tin to have better adhesion to the metal of the path of the cell
itself, directing the weld to the correct location. Four columns with four cells each should
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 4/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

be formed. Later, the four columns of cells already connected in series must also be
connected in series to the other columns through the bus wire, which has a similar function
to the tab wire but is slightly wider. The positive and negative terminals of the photovoltaic
panel are also defined (Fig. 4).

FIG3 The serial connection of photovoltaic cells (a) before and (b) after assembly.

FIG4 The photovoltaic panel with series connection (a) before and (b) after it is placed under glass.

With the 16 cells connected in series, the glass must be placed in the front, encapsulating
the cells. Electrical tests, such as and measurements, can be performed to verify that the
connections and operation are correct. According to Fig. 5, the measurement was 9.48 V,
and the was 1.02 A, giving a of approximately 9.7 W. The results obtained were closely
related to the theoretical value of 10.7 W obtained by considering the data presented in
Table 1 (16 photovoltaic cells × 0.53 V × 1.26 A).

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 5/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG5 The tests with the photovoltaic panel: (a) and (b)

To complete the installation of the photovoltaic panel, the aluminum frame must be
constructed. The photovoltaic panel has dimensions of 37 × 27 cm. The final assembled
panel is shown in Fig. 6. The panel can be insulated with silicone glue to prevent water and
dust from entering.

FIG6 The nished photovoltaic panel (a) before and (b) after installation.

Building the metering center

The second stage consists of constructing the system for collecting and recording
meteorological data. The Secure Digital (SD) card module and the clock module real-time
clock DS1302 must be connected to the Arduino along with the temperature and humidity
sensors (model DHT22). A voltage divider should also be constructed to collect voltage
and current from the photovoltaic panel by the Arduino, as shown in Fig. 7. The diagram
with the connections is presented in Fig. 8.

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 6/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG7 The sensors and modules connected to the Arduino Uno.

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 7/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG8 A schematic of the connection of the sensors to the Arduino of the low-cost weather station showing the (a) physical and (b) electrical connections. GND: ground; MISO:
Master Input Slave Output; MOSI: Master Output Slave Input; SCL: serial clock; VCC: dc voltage; CS: chip select; SCK: serial clock; SDA: serial data.

Tests can be developed using a protoboard. All sensors and modules have specific
libraries that were created in a unique program in the C/C++ language so that all
adjustments and changes could be made and later completed with loading on the Arduino.
Since the output voltage of the photovoltaic panel exceeds the voltage limit supported by
the Arduino’s analog ports, it is necessary to use a voltage divider.
The current measurement is obtained indirectly through the voltage value from the
voltage divider and the resistance value from an ohmmeter. The current value is found by
applying Ohm’s law (V = RI). Tests can also be carried out with a current sensor (model
ACS712). However, for measurements with small dc values, the result varies when
compared to that registered by an ammeter, so we chose to use the calculated current value
for the project.
To record the wind velocity, a Savonius turbine model was constructed with a
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle, cardboard, and a wooden stand, similar to
an anemometer (Fig. 9). The turbine of the anemometer model is 10 cm high. Tests were
performed with a turbine model created with 3D printing, but the required wind speed for
that model was higher, so the first model was chosen. A ferrite magnet was attached to the
edge of the PET plastic bottle for the Hall effect sensor to be sensitized and take the
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 8/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station
edge of the PET plastic bottle for the Hall effect sensor to be sensitized and take the
readings. When the magnet passes through the Hall effect sensor (model 3144), it emits a

signal of logic level one, which initializes a time counter. Immediately after passing
through the sensor, it changes the signal to the logic zero level. When the magnet passes
back through the sensor, the time is recorded. As a result, the time that the wind takes to
execute a rotation in the constructed model is obtained. Subsequently, the counter is reset,
and a new cycle starts. Figure 10 illustrates this step.

FIG9 The wind-speed meters: (a) an anemometer-type model and (b) a turbine model created with 3D printing.

FIG10 The process of recording the time by the Hall effect sensor to calculate the wind speed.

The collected angular velocity (rad/s) is converted to linear velocity (m/s) by the
expression where is the angular velocity, and r is the radius of the disk formed by the
anemometer model; in this case, the radius is 0.0575 m.
A digital anemometer was used to validate the wind-speed values recorded by the sensor
(Fig. 11), and the Arduino results were consistent with those measured by the digital
anemometer. The available digital anemometer does not sample the collected data at the
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekpt… 9/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

exit by means of software. Therefore, it would not be possible to perform an effective

comparison of Arduino and digital anemometer results due to the lack of time stamp and
difficulty in storage. The temperature collected by the sensor was validated based on that
indicated by the digital anemometer. The SD card module also has a built-in temperature
sensor, which aided with comparing the results.

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekp… 10/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG11 A digital anemometer.

After completing the calibrations, the weather station was mounted. The power supply of
the Arduino was connected through a solar charger (USB connection; 1,600 mAh, voltage
of 5 V, and autonomy of 4 h). It has also been tested with a 9-V battery with an autonomy
of approximately 6 h. The advantage of using the solar charger is that it is rechargeable and
can be applied several times in the power supply of the Arduino, whereas the battery needs
to be properly disposed after use. The result is shown in Fig. 12. The measurements made
by the low-cost weather station are shown in Fig. 13(a) and (b).

FIG12 The low-cost weather station from (a) side and (b) top views.

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekp… 11/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

FIG13 (a) The data collected on 12 February 2017 by the weather station, from 2:38 p.m. to 7:53 p.m. (b) The data collected on 17 and 18 February 2017 by the weather
station.

Conclusion
This article presented the step-by-step construction of a low-cost weather station, including
data collection and storage. The learning experiences gained from completing the project
are ideal for better understanding and applying programming with electronics as well as
developing skills with Arduino and wind and photovoltaic systems. A brief working video
of the project is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I2Iu9kLQEM and
https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekp… 12/13
9/21/2020 Building a low-cost weather station

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIyU5YrRo6g.

Acknowledgments
We thank the Institutional Program of Scientific Initiation Scholarships, National Council
for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Universidade Federal
Fluminense (UFF) for funding the project and also thank the Tutorial Education Program
(PET)-Elétrica UFF PET for the availability of the laboratory.

Read more about it

M. McRoberts, Beginning Arduino, 2nd ed. New York: Apress, 2013.
D. Wilcher, Learn Electronics With Arduino, 1st ed. New York: Apress, 2012.
H. Häberlin, Photovoltaics: System Design and Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012.
J. F. Manwell, J. G. McGowan, and A. L. Rogers, Wind Energy Explained: Theory, Design and Application, 2nd ed. Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley, 2009.
S. N. Mahmood and F. F. Hasan, “Design of weather monitoring system using Arduino based database implementation,” J.
Multidiscip. Eng. Sci. Technol., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 7109–7117, 2017.
M. T. Caccamo, E. Calabrò, S. Magazù, and A. Cannuli, “Wavelet study of meteorological data collected by Arduino-weather
station: Impact on solar energy collection technology,” in Proc. Asia Conf. Power and Electrical Engineering, 2016, pp. 1–6,
doi: 10.1051/matecconf/20165502004.

About the authors

Tayná Ferreira Santos (taynafs@id.uff.br) is an undergraduate student of electrical
engineering at the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niteroi, Brazil. She is also a
scholar in the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development–UFF
scientific initiation program.
Vitor Hugo Ferreira (vhferreira@id.uff.br) is the chair of the IEEE Computational
Intelligence Society Chapter of the IEEE Rio de Janeiro Section and chair of the Electrical
Engineering Department of the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, Brazil. He is a
Senior Member of the IEEE.

Digital Object Identi er 10.1109/MPOT.2018.2869918

https://read.nxtbook.com/ieee/potentials/september_october_2020/building_a_low_cost_weather_s.html?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTTJOa01USXpOekp… 13/13