Andy's Blog

A handful of ramblings...

The basic goals of this project are to build a set of instruments that record to a central database the following environmental conditions:

  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Barometric Pressure
  • Heat Index (calculated)
  • Wind Chill (calculated)
  • Wind Speed / Direction
  • Rainfall (inches)
  • Rainfall (Is it raining)
  • Rainfall (Intensity - light, moderate,...

The basic goals of this project are to build a set of instruments that record to a central database the following environmental conditions:

  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Barometric Pressure
  • Heat Index (calculated)
  • Wind Chill (calculated)
  • Wind Speed / Direction
  • Rainfall (inches)
  • Rainfall (Is it raining)
  • Rainfall (Intensity - light, moderate, heavy)
  • Lightning (counts per minute)
  • LUX
  • Air quality

This data should be stored in a local database for analysis and consumption by other devices / applicaitons.

Applicable uses include

  • HVAC control and scheduling
  • Control of attic/crawl space dampers / fans for optimal venting
  • HVAC indoor / outdoor air mixing control
  • Irrigation control and scheduling
  • Warning of open windows and doors at the start of a storm
  • Early notification of approaching storm front
  • Statistical analysis of correlation between local outdoor climate and home energy consumption
  • Statistical analysis of changes to stucture / behavior and correlation to home energy consumption
  • Automatic shutdown of sensitive electrical systems on approach of advancing electrical storms
More

My Backyard Weather beta 2

My-Backyard-Weather-b_20190520-184435_1

Well another year of testing has come and gone so, it's time for an update! In short, I'm nearly there. This version is the last one with components mounted to a proto board. This is also the last dedicated version of the software.

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My Backyard Weather beta1

My-Backyard-Weather

It has been over a year and I feel like I have a decently tested version to post. It has been a learning experience to be sure and I am already working on some changes for the official version 1 of this monstrosity. In the meantime, here is My Backyard Weather, beta 1.

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A Beginner's Guide to Weather Stations

A Beginner's Guide to Weather Stations

Let me make this clear, the 'Beginner' mentioned in this post isn't you, it's me! This weather beginner has built a prototype weather station and in the 2 months it has been up, I've learned a lot. I have learned that some of my ideas weren't so crazy and I learned that some of the things I took for granted were way off base. 

So, call this a beta, a prototype version or whatever you like, just don't call it finished. Here I present to you my lessons learned on the way to stable state.

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Weather Station Project

Weather Station Project

Overview

I've always wanted to build a weather station. I have an interest in weather science but, for me a weather station is all of the stuff I like about electronics - real world use of remote sensing that can be used for practical stuff. From home automation to gardening to knowing what's in the air, local weather and environmental sensing can be used to make subtle cumulative changes that add up to better health and lower bills.

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