Arduino Anemometer, Measure Wind speed using Wind Speed Sensor

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Arduino Anemometer, Measure Wind speed:

Arduino Anemometer, Measure Wind speed– A wind speed sensor which is also known as an anemometer is a device used for measuring wind speed and is a common weather station instrument. The wind sensor integrates both wind speed and wind direction in a single instrument. This well-made anemometer is designed to sit outside and measure wind speed with ease. The three Cups type Wind Speed Sensor Current Type (4 to 20mA) Anemometer Kit is an instrument that can measure the wind speed and direction. It’s basically a wind speed tracker which captures the wind through the cups. The wind is captured in the concave side of the cup.

Amazon Links:

Arduino Nano USB-C Type (Recommended)

Anemometer, measure wind speed

SSD1306 Oled display Module

*Disclosure: These are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Composition of the wind sensor/Anemometer:

It is composed of a shell, the wind cup, and the circuit module. When the air flows the three cups start rotating which are connected with a central axis and internal drive to generate an output signal. Photovoltaic modules, industrial microcomputer processors, current generators, and so on are integrated into the internal drive.

The materials of the sensor shell are black color coated. Wind Cups are of aluminum alloy which uses the special mold precision casting technology; the size of the tolerance is very small. The precision of the surface is very high, and the internal circuit has been protected with a casing. The sensor has high strength, weather resistance, corrosion resistance, and is waterproof.

The plug of cable is a military plug; it has a good anticorrosive and prevents erosion performance which can ensure the instrument to use for a long time.

The material of the circuit PCB is the military-grade A which ensure the stability of the parameters and the quality of the electrical properties; Electronic components consists of chips which makes it extremely reliable for electromagnetic interference resistance and can ensure that the host can work normally in – 20 ℃ ~ + 50 ℃, humidity 35% ~ 85% (condensation).

Types of Anemometers:

There are following types of the Anemometers with which we can measure the speed of the wind:

Ultrasonic Anemometer
Thrust Anemometer
Rotating Cup Anemometers
Hot Wire Anemometer

Wind sonic Ultrasonic Anemometers:

The wind sonic Ultrasonic Anemometers are used in environmental, industrial, and marine applications. The wind sonic Ultrasonic Anemometer measurea the wind speed up to 60 m/s with low start-up speed and 360° wind direction with no dead band. Wind sonic Anemometer has less weight, is robust, and is corrosion-free. The wind sonic anemometer can be operated in a wide range of conditions. Wind sonic Anemometer has no moving point which makes it ideal for the harsh environment. The opposing transducers in the Wind sonic anemometer send and receive ultrasonic pulses from each other which travel at the same speed. The wind is measured through these sending and receiving pulses. When there will be no wind the pulses will be received at the same time and if the wind is blowing then the pulses will be delayed.

Hotwire or Thermocouple anemometer:

In this type of Anemometer, we use a hot wire which is a sensing element made up of platinum or tungsten which is connected with the Wheatstone bridge. When a gas or wind will come in contact with the hot wire, the hot wire gives its heat to the gas and will start cooling due to which its resistance will change. This resistance will be measured with Wheatstone bridge deflection. This deflection will give us the gas flow rate. It can be measured in two ways:

Constant current method
Constant temperature method

Uses of the wind sensor:

The wind sensor can be widely used in engineering machinery (crane, crawler crane, door crane, tower crane, etc.), railways, ports, docks, power plants, meteorological, cableway, agriculture, etc. This sensor can be used in places where we need a proper speed of the wind like power generation through wind turbines, meteorology, and agriculture, etc.

Measurement of Wind speed:

Wind speed or wind velocity is caused by the air moving from a high pressure to lower pressure due to changes in temperature. The wind is generated due to differences in atmospheric pressure. Normally the unit used for the wind velocity is knot (Nautical miles per hour = 1.15 mph).

Instantaneous Wind Speed = Anemometer Factor x Instantaneous Shaft Speed

The wind speed can also be measured from the Beaufort scale and is commonly used in marine forecasts and weather observations. In the Beaufort scale, we have a chart from which we get the wind speed.

Working of the Wind Speed sensor:

The wind sensor consists of three hemispherical cups which revolve with the wind in the horizontal direction. The revolving of the cups is proportional to the speed of the wind which will emit a short pulse during rotation. These cups are connected to the electric generator. When the wind blows the cups start rotation which runs the electric generator. The electric generator operates the electric meter which is calibrated in wind speed.

Features:

High hardness
Corrosion protection
Waterproofness
High precision

Dimensions:

Cups Outer Diameter: 50 mm.
Body Outer Diameter: 39 mm.
Base Diameter: 60 mm.
Screw Hole Diameter: 7 mm.

Specifications:

Output: 0.4V to 2V
Testing Range: 0.5m/s to 50m/s
Start wind speed: 0.2 m/s
Resolution: 0.1m/s
Accuracy: Worst case 1 meter/s
Max Wind Speed: 70m/s

Circuit diagram:

Now we will interface the wind sensor with arduino nano so we will make the following connections:

Connect the red VCC wire of the wind sensor with 5V of the Arduino Nano
Connect the black ground wire of the wind sensor with the ground of the Arduino Nano
Connect the blue voltage signal wire of the wind sensor with the A1 pin of the Arduino Nano

As we are displaying the speed on the OLED so we will connect OLED with Arduino Nano through I2C communication.

Connect the VCC pin of the Oled with 3.3V of the Arduino Nano
Connect the ground pin of the Oled with ground of the Arduino Nano
Connect the SDA pin of the Oled with A4 pin of the Arduino Nano
Connect the SCL pin of the Oled with A5 pin of the Arduino Nano

Arduino Anemometer Complete code:

#include <SPI.h>              // include libraries
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>
#define SCREEN_WIDTH 128 // OLED display width, in pixels
#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64 // OLED display height, in pixels

// Declaration for an SSD1306 display connected to I2C (SDA, SCL pins)
#define OLED_RESET     -1 // Reset pin # (or -1 if sharing Arduino reset pin)
Adafruit_SSD1306 display(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, &Wire, OLED_RESET);
int windsensor=A0;
float voltagemax=2;
float voltagemin=.4;
float voltageconvconst=0.004882814;
float sensorvoltage=0;

float windspeedmin=0;
float windspeedmax=32;

float windspeed=0;
float prevwindspeed=0;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600);
display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C);
  delay(2000);
  display.clearDisplay();
  display.setTextColor(WHITE);
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
int sensorvalue=analogRead(windsensor);
float voltage=sensorvalue*(5.0/1023);
sensorvoltage=sensorvalue*voltageconvconst;
if(sensorvoltage<voltagemin)
{
  windspeed=0;
  }
  else {
    windspeed = (sensorvoltage - voltagemin)*windspeedmax/(voltagemax - voltagemin)*2.232694; //to get wind speed in m/s 
    }
     
  display.clearDisplay();
  display.setCursor(25,0);  
  display.setTextSize(1);
  display.setTextColor(WHITE);
  display.println(" Wind Speed");
  display.setCursor(10,20);
  display.setTextSize(2);
   display.print(String(windspeed)+"m/s");

  
}

#include <SPI.h> // include libraries

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

#define SCREEN_WIDTH 128 // OLED display width, in pixels

#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64 // OLED display height, in pixels

// Declaration for an SSD1306 display connected to I2C (SDA, SCL pins)

#define OLED_RESET -1 // Reset pin # (or -1 if sharing Arduino reset pin)

Adafruit_SSD1306 display(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, &Wire, OLED_RESET);

int windsensor=A0;

float voltagemax=2;

float voltagemin=.4;

float voltageconvconst=0.004882814;

float sensorvoltage=0;

float windspeedmin=0;

float windspeedmax=32;

float windspeed=0;

float prevwindspeed=0;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600);

display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C);

delay(2000);

display.clearDisplay();

display.setTextColor(WHITE);

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

int sensorvalue=analogRead(windsensor);

float voltage=sensorvalue*(5.0/1023);

sensorvoltage=sensorvalue*voltageconvconst;

if(sensorvoltage<voltagemin)

{

windspeed=0;

}

else {

windspeed = (sensorvoltage - voltagemin)*windspeedmax/(voltagemax - voltagemin)*2.232694; //to get wind speed in m/s

}

display.clearDisplay();

display.setCursor(25,0);

display.setTextSize(1);

display.setTextColor(WHITE);

display.println(" Wind Speed");

display.setCursor(10,20);

display.setTextSize(2);

display.print(String(windspeed)+"m/s");

}

Engr Fahad