The Characteristics of a Solar-powered Arduino Device Compared to a PASCO Anemometer

Authors

  • Ron Timothy Joshua C. Ko Leong

Keywords:

solar-powered, PASCO anemometer, device

Abstract

A wide variety of crops can grow in the Philippine climate, but there exists crops-in-demand, which are highly sensitive to temperature and humidity. To assist in growing these plants, the researcher proposed to produce a relatively inexpensive means of measuring and presenting these data in real time. The question now is if there is a significant difference in the results of the solar-powered Arduino device and the PASCO anemometer in measuring both temperature and humidity. The working Arduino model was produced, and the PASCO device was secured before the investigation. The gathering of data was done in four different locations each with varying atmospheric conditions. The tests were done (1) outside the building of the school, (2) inside a non-air-conditioned classroom, (3) inside an air-conditioned classroom, and (4) inside a refrigerator. There were five runs per location, and only the fifth run was considered to accommodate for possible delays in adjusting to the new environment. Each run collected data every second for 50 seconds.At a 95% confidence interval, the Arduino’s and PASCO anemometer’s ability to measure temperature (p-value, 0.7717) and humidity (p-value, 0.3248) have no significant difference. In comparison to a third value, standards such as actual weather readings, room temperature, air-conditioning unit’s readings, and refrigerator unit’s readings, the Arduino device proved more accurate than the PASCO anemometer regarding measuring temperature. Based on the data gathered by both devices and the statistical tests that were performed, the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the results of the solar-powered Arduino device and the PASCO anemometer in measuring both temperature and humidity is proven true. This means that using the lower-costing solar-powered Arduino device would yield accurate results and would be a valid substitute.

Published

2018-05-18