@dbemowsk Great looking project!

Whilst you have gone to some length to post your project you left out a crucial bit of information - that is, how much current do you need at 5V?

Your original problem with 5V relays was probably due to not enough current available at 5V, nothing to do with the relays themselves. You might also want to investigate latching relays as that would save a lot of energy and they come in 3.3v versions as well......

Once you know the current required, search for an LDO dc switching regulator that gives about 50% more than this (just for safety and longevity of components) and then you have the answer.

As you are already soldering your own boards then adding a regulator and some caps shouldn't be too much of an issue for you.

@pepson Then just add another sensor from ground to digital pin 2 and change the code you see in the example to accommodate the extra input.

You'll need to add another child id, another button, another bounce function, another presentation, another send and another bounce call.

@pepson If you need the node to sleep or want to use interrupts then only digital pins 2 and 3 will do this for uno/promini.

So otherwise 2 options really.

If you just need to know that one of the sensors triggered (but not which one) then you can add sensors in series (for normally 'closed' sensors) or parallel (for normally 'open' sensors).

To use interrupt and know which sensor triggered you'd have to connect both sensor to interrupt pin with blocking diodes to digital pins as well and then on interrupt you can check which digital pin activated the isr.

@mrhutchinsonmn For plug in items it would be easier and cheaper to get a power meter and use that to see how much power each item uses both when in use and standby. Then simply log the hours of use to determine overall power consumption.

I have something like this.....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3Pin-UK-Plug-Electricity-Power-Consumption-Meter-Energy-Monitor-Watt-kwh-Analyze/372687255823?hash=item56c5e4390f:g:9-oAAOSwU-Jc~izR

3Pin UK Plug Electricity Power Consumption Meter Energy Monitor Watt kwh Analyze

$11.20

19 available

@parachutesj I agree - my Fluke is over 30 year old and still going well!

For those thinking of buying one could consider looking at the following videos first....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh1n_ELmpFI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoeUgMFLyAw
EEVblog #853 - How A Multimeter Works – 31:48
— EEVblog

All good stuff to know.

@pl_rekin Only put the sensors in the fridge or freezer. Everything else is on top of fridge/freezer inc AC-DC 5V power, all in plastic boxes. I also put an LCD display in the fridge door to see all the data at a glance.

If I were to do this again I would try HTU21D sensors instead, I keep meaning to change the DHT's to HTU's , but never seem to get around to it.

@pl_rekin Below are the bits you need to get this to work. Taken from my fridge/freezer sketch with all the confusing LCD and other stuff removed so you can see the basic set up of DHT and how to use.

#include <DHT.h>

#define CHILD_ID_FGEHUM 0
#define CHILD_ID_FGETEMP 2
#define CHILD_ID_FZRHUM 1
#define CHILD_ID_FZRTEMP 3

// Sleep time between sensor updates (in milliseconds)
// Must be >1000ms for DHT22 and >2000ms for DHT11

unsigned long last_sent_time = 0;
unsigned long sent_time = 5 * 60000;

bool metric = true;

DHT dht;    //Fridge
DHT dht1;   //Freezer

void setup() {

  dht.setup(7);  // Fridge data pin 7
  dht1.setup(6); // Freezer data pin 6

 //sensor fridge
  delay(dht.getMinimumSamplingPeriod());
  fgetemp = dht.getTemperature();
  
  //sensor freezer
  delay(dht1.getMinimumSamplingPeriod());
  fzrtemp = dht1.getTemperature();
  }

void loop() {

  if (millis() - last_display_time >= display_time) {
    last_display_time = millis();
    //sensor fridge
    delay(dht.getMinimumSamplingPeriod());
    fgehum = dht.getHumidity();
    fgetemp = dht.getTemperature();
   
    //sensor freezer
    delay(dht1.getMinimumSamplingPeriod());
    fzrhum = dht1.getHumidity();
    fzrtemp = dht1.getTemperature();
   
}

It is important to fully read and comply with the instructions here.... https://www.mysensors.org/build/humidity
Especially the bit about installing the modified library or you will still face issues.

My build has been running > 5 years, so it is a tested method.

@ancalotoru Please do let us know how you get on - and some pictures of the project would be nice too!

Good Luck!

@zboblamont said in Help for an irrigation system with a few inconveniences:

I can't really add more to this other than to say that if the batteries in the remote won't work, warm them under your armpits for a few minutes and try again - I bet they work!

The voltage drop for a month in summer failing to connect to the Gateway was colossal by comparison, hence the UPS went up my priority list...

Won't a UPS have a battery in it too?

@zboblamont There are so many different types of battery with different chemical components that it is harder now to generalise, but I believe that the physics of it still hold true.

It is the reason that your smoke alarm battery nearly always sounds the warning beeps at night. That's due to nighttime temperatures being lower and as the cell reaches it's last dribble of energy the temperature variation is enough to lower the voltage when the cell cools.