Smart Plant Watering System

Project Overview

The Smart Plant Watering System is an IoT-powered irrigation solution that monitors soil moisture in real time and automatically triggers a water pump when plants need hydration. Built on the ESP8266 NodeMCU platform and connected via Wi-Fi, the system sends instant mobile notifications and logs moisture data to a cloud dashboard — ensuring plants are never over or under-watered.

Key Features & Implementation

• Soil Moisture Sensing: Capacitive soil moisture sensors provide accurate, corrosion-resistant readings and send analog data to the ESP8266 every 30 seconds.
• Automated Pump Control: A relay module activates the water pump automatically when moisture drops below a customizable threshold, then cuts off once optimal hydration is reached.
• Mobile Alerts via MQTT: Real-time push notifications are sent through an MQTT broker to a mobile app whenever the pump activates or moisture levels become critical.

Challenges Solved

Preventing the water pump from short-cycling (turning on and off too rapidly) required implementing a hysteresis-based threshold with a configurable dead-band. This ensured stable pump operation and extended the lifespan of both the pump and relay module significantly.