Piezoelectric Rainfall Sensor

Piezoelectric Rainfall Sensor

The sensor consists of an upper cover, housing, and lower cover. Inside the housing, there are piezoelectric sheets and a circuit board. It can be mounted on a 50mm outer diameter column or a meteorological station crossbar. The sensor uses the impact measurement principle to calculate the weight of individual raindrops, thereby determining rainfall. During descent, raindrops are influenced by their weight and air resistance, reaching the ground at a constant velocity. According to P=mv, measuring the impact allows for the determination of raindrop weight, leading to continuous rainfall measurement.
1. Features
◆ Fully solid-state integrated design with an elegant appearance
◆ Utilizes impact measurement principle to calculate individual raindrop weight and determine rainfall
◆ No mechanical parts or exposed components; filters out similar interference signals from environmental factors such as leaves, dust, and insects
◆ High measurement accuracy, wide range, excellent stability, low power consumption, and strong resistance to external interference
◆ Minimal impact from weather changes; accurate rainfall duration monitoring down to the second
◆ Low maintenance requirements; raindrop contact surface features an arc design structure that does not retain rainwater
◆ Automatic level calibration after installation, eliminating the need for on-site calibration
◆ Compact size, easy to carry, disassemble, and install
2. Applications
Widely used in meteorological environment monitoring, comprehensive hydrological and hydraulic monitoring stations, traffic road monitoring, agriculture, forestry, wind power generation, and other relevant departments for remote measurement of precipitation, rainfall intensity, and start/end times of rainfall. Used in hydrological automatic monitoring and reporting systems, automatic field monitoring stations, etc., for purposes such as flood control, water supply scheduling, and reservoir water management.
3. Operating and Storage Conditions
Operating temperature: -40 to 85°C; Operating humidity: 0 to 100% RH
Storage temperature: -40 to 125°C; Storage humidity: <80% (non-condensing)
⊙ Technical Parameters
Measurement Parameters
Rainfall measurement:
Rain intensity range: 0.3 to 10 mm/min
Resolution: 0.01 mm
Measurement accuracy: ±4% (daily cumulative rainfall)
Refresh interval: 5 s
Cumulative rainfall: Total rainfall since power-on
Current rainfall event: Data is retained after rain stops until the next rainfall event, automatically resetting to zero.
Duration of current rainfall event: Unit is 5 s; e.g., a value of 12 indicates 60 s of rainfall
Rainfall in the past 1 minute: Smoothed rolling value of the past 1 minute
Rainfall in the past 10 minutes: Smoothed rolling value of the past 10 minutes
Peak minute rainfall in current event: Maximum minute rainfall during the current rainfall event
Optional Parameters
¨ Air temperature: -40 to 85°C; Resolution: 0.1°C; Measurement accuracy: ±0.3°C
¨ Relative humidity: 0 to 100% RH; Resolution: 0.1% RH; Measurement accuracy: ±3% RH
¨ Atmospheric pressure: 300 to 1100 hPa; Resolution: 0.1 hPa; Measurement accuracy: ±0.4 hPa
¨ Analog tipping bucket pulse output; Resolution: ¨ 0.1 mm ¨ 0.2 mm ¨ 0.5 mm
Other Parameters
Data transmission methods: RS485, GPRS, LTE CAT-1, 4G; customizable LoRa, NB-IoT; supports positioning function
Power supply range: Mains power using 6–24V DC adapter or built-in lithium battery + solar power
Cable length: 1.5 meters (standard)
Protection rating: IP67
⊙ Installation
Selecting an appropriate installation location is crucial for the sensor's measurement accuracy. To ensure measurement accuracy is not affected, please follow these installation requirements.
1. The piezoelectric rain gauge should be installed horizontally on a bracket at a height of 0.5 m or more above the ground.
2. Install the piezoelectric rain gauge in an open area with no obstructions nearby.
3. Install the piezoelectric rain gauge away from vibration sources such as construction machinery and outdoor air conditioning units.