Guest Tutorial: Connected Temperature Station
A new citizen science tutorial from contributor Jen FoxBot!
SparkFun and Jen FoxBot are working together to create a series of citizen science related tutorials geared toward beginners, as well as seasoned makers.
Jen FoxBot is back with a new, citizen-science tutorial that will help you build a solar-powered, internet-connected, temperature recording station! This is a perfect, hands-on project for learning the difference between daily temperature fluctuations and average temperature over time, a particularly crucial distinction when discussing climate change.
This system uses the Particle Photon as the control device, which easily connects to WiFi. The Photon reads in temperature data from the SparkFun TMP102 digital temperature sensor, then uploads the data to a web server for remote data acquisition and, if desired, subsequent analysis and plotting.
Photon Remote Temperature Sensor
March 1, 2016
Learn how to build your own Internet-connect, solar-powered temperature collection station using the Photon from Particle.
She also made a video to go along with the project:
Go forth and build!
Site setup is very important for measuring accurate outdoor air temperature. Roughly, the ideal situation is 6'-8' above grass, and 8'-12' away from buildings or other heat sources. You don't want to put it next to or above a dark surface that will radiate heat. The thermometer enclosure should be opaque white, with plenty of air flow.