Assessing Low-cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors: Accurate, Affordable, and IoT-ready Solutions for Soil Moisture Monitoring

Abstract

This research, conducted at G D Goenka University, assesses the performance of low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensors in comparison to the standard Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) sensors, with a focus on accuracy, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and IoT integration. The results indicate that these sensors are highly accurate, exhibit low error rates, and are a cost-effective alternative to TDR sensors, making them well-suited for large-scale deployments in agricultural and environmental applications. The study's findings support the integration of these sensors into IoT-based soil moisture monitoring systems, with recommendations for optimizing their performance in specific use cases, thereby contributing valuable insights to the field of soil moisture measurement.