Soil Moisture Sensor WS485: Empowering Precise Agriculture with Accurate Data

In the agricultural field, the traditional extensive irrigation method relying on experience is likely to cause either water resource waste or insufficient irrigation. With the rise of precision agriculture, different crops have varying requirements for soil temperature and humidity at different growth stages. There is an urgent need to accurately grasp the soil temperature and humidity to achieve precise irrigation and fertilization, improve crop yields and quality, and enhance the utilization rate of water resources. The development of sensor technology has provided new ideas. New sensitive materials have enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of sensors, while microelectronics technology has made sensors integrated and intelligent. MEMS technology has reduced costs and minimized the size, ultimately leading to the research, development, and widespread application of the Soil Moisture Sensor.

The Soil Moisture Sensor WS485 is a device based on the RS485 communication interface. It measures soil humidity using the FDR (Frequency Domain Reflectometry) principle and measures soil temperature by utilizing a thermistor or a thermocouple.

Its power supply generally ranges from 3.6 to 30V DC, and it has a relatively low power consumption. For example, the maximum power consumption of some products is only 0.5 to 0.7W. The measurement range of soil moisture is 0 to 100%, and the measurement range of soil temperature is approximately from -40°C to 80°C. The accuracy of humidity can reach ±2% within the range of 0 to 50%, and within the range of 50 to 100%, the accuracy is between ±3% and ±5%. The general temperature accuracy is ±0.5°C, the response time is less than 1s, and the protection level is mostly IP68, enabling it to be completely waterproof.

This sensor features high-precision measurement, being less affected by soil salinity, strong durability, electrodes made of special alloy materials that are resistant to salt and alkali corrosion and long-term electrolysis, good sealing performance, being encapsulated with pure epoxy resin colloid or vacuum-filled for sealing, being easy to install with a probe insertion design, stable data transmission, RS485 output with strong anti-interference ability, and a long transmission distance. It is widely applied in various fields such as scientific experiments, water-saving irrigation, greenhouse cultivation, flower and vegetable planting, grassland pastures, rapid soil testing, plant cultivation, sewage treatment, and grain storage. It can provide accurate soil temperature and humidity data support for related work, helping users accurately grasp the soil status and take corresponding measures.