National Institute of Technology [NIT] Delhi

Mini Project Report

Laboratory of Analog Electronics (ECB 252)
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Submitted by:-
Sarthak Pandey
17122043
ECE: U.G. 2nd Year
 Soil Moisture Sensor Indicator

Abstract
Water is a valuable resource, and water shortages are a serious problem in many parts of the world. The
problem can be made worse by people who waste water; for example, by watering a garden or using
sprinklers on their lawn (or a farmer taking care of an entire field) when it has rained recently or the soil
is already moist. The efficient irrigation management practices based on the monitoring of the moisture in
the soil provide a great benefit for the appropriate amount of water applied in the fields. This project
presents the design and development of a soil moisture sensor and a circuit that indicates whether soil is
wet or dry.

It helps in problems related to growing of crops in which irrigation is required at irregular interval. It is
also helpful in monitoring of soil moisture in golf fields.

I. Introduction
India is a developing nation with a very large population. Due to increasing population, the basic need such as food
and water is increasing day by day. Thus, there is a need of saving these resources and utilize them in an efficient
manner. Since water is one of the most important elements in our daily life, thus we must use efficient ways to utilize
water and save it for future generations. One of method is efficient irrigation management practices for fields.
Irrigation water
management practices could greatly benefit by the knowledge of moisture in the soil. By knowing the moisture value,
we can estimate when to water and how much to water the fields so that there is no over-watering or wilting of crops.
These practices will increase crop yield, improve quality of crops, conserve water resources, save energy, and decrease
fertilizer supplies.

II. Equipments
1. 2N2222 Transistor : 2N2222 is an NPN BJT transistor. It is used for general purpose low-power
amplification and switching applications. These are designed for high speed switching application at collector current
up to 800mA. It provides useful current gain over a wide range of collector current. Other features include, low leakage
currents and low saturation voltage. 2N2222A is another variant with improved characteristics.
The emitter leg of 2N2222 is indicated by a protruding edge in the transistor case. The base is nearest to the emitter
while collector lies at other extreme of the casing.

2. Light Emitting Diode (LED) : A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source that emits
light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in
the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence. The color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the
photons) is determined by the energy required for electrons to cross the band gap of the semiconductor.

3. Voltage Regulator ( IC 7805): 7805 is a three terminal linear voltage regulator IC with a fixed output
voltage of 5V which is useful in a wide range of applications. It is an IC in the 78XX family of linear voltage regulators
that produce a regulated 5V as output. Some of the important features of the 7805 IC are as follows:

It can deliver up to 1.5 A of current (with heat sink).

Has both internal current limiting and thermal shutdown features.
Requires very minimum external components to fully function.
 III. Principle of Operation
1. The circuit comprises of a transistor in its common emitter, fixed bias configuration.
2. When the base-emitter junction is short circuited, (i.e. the probes are connected to each other) the transistor acts
as an open circuit switch because the base-emitter junction in this case is reverse biased.

3. When the base-emitter junction is not shorted, (i.e. the probes are not connected to each other) the transistor acts as a short
circuit switch because the base-emitter junction in this case is forward biased with the collector emitter junction.

4. When the circuitry is installed, and if the soil is barren (i.e. it is not moist), then there is no medium of conduction between
the probes resulting in the base-emitter junction being forward biased together with the collector-emitter junction which in
turn leads to the enlightenment of LED and it glows as an indication of lack of moisture content in the soil which needs to be
irrigated and watered.

5. If the soil is already moist, then a medium of conduction (i.e. the minerals present in the soil) serves between the probes
resulting in the base-emitter junction being now reverse biased (as it is now shorted) due to which the LED doesn’t glow in
this case (as it now behaves as an open circuit switch) simply indicating that the soil has adequate amount of moisture
present in it and is quiet fit for farming.

IV. Result
Irrigation becomes easy, accurate and practical with the same soil sample impossible. Because of the idea above shared
and can be implemented in agricultural difficulties of accurately measuring dry soil and water fields in future to promote
agriculture to next level.

V. Conclusion
The primary applications for this project are for farmers and gardeners who do not have enough time to water
their Crops/plants. It also covers those farmers who are wasteful of water during irrigation. The project can
be extended to greenhouses where manual supervision is far and few in between. The principle can be
extended to create fully automated gardens and farmlands. Combined with the principle of rain water
harvesting, it could lead to huge water savings if applied in the right manner. In agricultural lands with severe
shortage of rainfall, this model can be successfully applied to achieve great results with most types of soil.