I am planning to measure water level in a well, which is about 10 m deep with maximum water level up to 5 m. My plan is to use ultrasonic sensor HC SR04 to measure depth, transmit it via ZigBee to a Raspberry Pi inside my home.
As discussed in my previous question I need to select a micro controller to connect the ultrasound sensor and the ZigBee module together.
The parameters for selection is:
Low power: I am planning to run this on battery, so low power usage is a priority. As of now I do not have any target for power usage or days between battery changes or even which battery to use. Since this is more of a learning project and it's in my home, I am flexible, but lower power usage is better.
Low cost: This is a learning project for me, and I do not want to spend an outrageous amount of money on this, so lower cost is better.
Working inside a well: The whole project will be working from inside a well and will be exposed to harsh sunlight and rain. I will be providing a good case and protection though.
Easy to program.
I chose ZigBee as it is simple, meets my use case and low power. But my requirement is to transport the sensor data and I am open to other transports. The distance from my well to Raspberry Pi is about 6 meters with a wall in between. I am planning to measure the water depth every 10 minutes and twice a minute when the water pump is running (approx 20 minutes daily) .
