A few years ago, I cobbled together a sensor to monitor the water level of my Christmas tree. Like a bad holiday movie, it’s since sucked me in for a few more hours of tinkering each year. Although its main function is largely unchanged, I’ve added a few more bells and whistles along the way. I upgraded the scrap metal + FoodSaver bag sensing probe to a custom PCB and changed the software platform from Arduino + Adafruit IO to ESP Home, unlocking the full smart home automation power of Home Assistant. The result is a reliable and relatively power-efficient Continue Reading
Smarthome
A wireless water level sensor for the Internet of Tannenbaums
(There’s a more recent post with updates to this sensor.) I rigged up a crude little water level sensor to monitor my Christmas tree and send me alerts when it gets thirsty. With the help of two strips of aluminum stuffed in a FoodSaver bag, an Adafruit HUZZAH32 – ESP32 Feather Board, and a little Arduino code, our humble tree has become part of the IoT revolution! Physics lab flashback The sensing probe that goes in the water is basically just a parallel plate capacitor straight out of undergrad physics. The water flows between the plates and works as a Continue Reading