Feature Product
Tech Support
ICT Catalogue
Mailing List
Case Studies
Salinity
Tall Trees
Waste Water
Videos
2nd-hand Sales
ECH2O EC-5 Soil Moisture Sensor
A low cost sensor for measuring volumetric water content of soil.
Measuring or monitoring soil moisture content helps determine when to irrigate, how much water to apply, depth of wetting, patterns of soil moisture extraction by roots, and trends in soil moisture content with time. Soil moisture determines the transport and storage of dissolved nutrients and pollutants and the availablity of water to plants.
Soil Water Content
ECH2O is a capacitance probe that measures dielectric permittivity of the surrounding medium. In soil, dielectric permittivity is directly related to the water content. The ECH2O probe outputs a voltage proportional to the dielectric permittivity, and therefore the water content of the soil.
Features
- High resolution allows daily or hourly tracking of water use
- Voltage output proportional to water content
- Low-cost dielectric water content sensor
- Low sensitivity to salt and temperature
- Very low power requirement
Specifications
| Measurements taken | Volumetric water content |
| Accuracy | ±3% typical on all soils, up to 8dS/m. |
| Range | 0-100% VWC |
| Electrical Interface | 3.5mm plug, 3-wire |
| Supply Voltage | 2.5-5V DC @ 10mA |
| Frequency | 70MHz |
| Output | Voltage, correlated linearly (soil) or polynomially (growing media) with VWC |
Click here for a comparison of different ECH2O soil moisture sensors
Download a printer-friendly version (205K PDF)
© 2003-2008, ICT International