Soil moisture sensors are sensors for measuring real-time moisture. They have to connect to an irrigation system controller to measure moisture content in the soil in the active root zone before each scheduled irrigation event. If the soil moisture is above the point that users set, the soil moisture sensors bypass the cycle. Nowadays, the types of soil moisture are not simple. With the development of technology, there are various types of soil moisture sensors, including capacitive soil moisture sensors, tensiometer soil moisture sensors, and so on. In this article, we mainly talk about capacitive soil moisture sensors and tensiometer soil moisture sensors.
Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors
Capacitive soil moisture sensors are the soil moisture sensors utilized capacity, which is characterized by high accuracy, wide range, a wide variety of measurable materials, and a fast response speed, which can be applied to online monitoring to realize automated pressure switches.
The working principle of capacitive soil moisture sensors is as follows. Capacitive soil moisture sensors detect the moisture content by using the dielectric properties of soil, which is an effective, fast, simple, and reliable method. The capacitance of a capacitive soil moisture sensor with a certain geometric structure is proportional to the dielectric constant of the measuring material between the two terminals. Because the dielectric constant of water is much larger than that of common materials, when the soil moisture increases, the dielectric constant of water also increases correspondingly, and the capacitance value that the moisture sensor gives during the process. measurement also increases. The corresponding relationship between the sensor's capacity and soil moisture can measure soil moisture.
Tensiometer Soil Moisture Sensors
The structure of tensiometer soil moisture sensors is simple and it can be measured online in real time. Usually, the tensiometer soil moisture sensors have a porous porcelain head, which is connected to a vacuum gauge through a pipe filled with water. Then the device will be inserted into a hole in the soil. The porous porcelain head is closely attached to the soil, and the vacuum gauge is set on the ground. There is a great development in using a tensiometer to measure soil moisture content.
Hope this article will help you get more familiar with these two types of soil moisture sensors. If you are looking for any soil sensors, feel free to contact us!
