SANT ATULANAND RESIDENTIAL ACADEMY

SUBJECT:-PROJECT WRIITING
TITLE:- DESIGN OF RAIN ALARM
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
As we know electrical engineering field is the art of combining the knowledge
of science, engineering and physics to acquire the ability to design a system,
component, or process to meet desired needs. So we would like to thank the
department for giving this chance even if it is part of the course.
 ABSTRACT

In this project we tried to present the essence of conservation of rain water.

The main purpose of this project is to collect clear rain water automatically
using water sensor. The rain water detector can be used to conserve Water,
prevent Groundwater and Waterways Pollution, to save money on fertilizer.
The rain alarm circuit produces an audible alarm whenever the rain falls. the
rain detector circuit is based on two transistors and the probes.
 TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE

1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………

2 Background …………………………………………………………………………….

3 Literature review …………………………………………………………………….

3.1 rain water sensor…………………………………………………………
3.2 irrigation sensor ………………………………………………………….

4 Aim of the project ……………………………………………………………………

5 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………..

6 Project schedule plan ………………………………………………………………

6.1 First phase …………………………………………………………………….
6.2 second phase ………………………………………………………………..
6.3 Third phase …………………………………………………………………..

7 Equipment required ………………………………………………………………..

8 Cost of equipment and budget allocation ………………………………….

1 INTRODUCTION
Water is basic need in every one’s life. Saving and proper usage of water is
very important. Here is an easy project which will give the alarm when there
is rain, so that we can make some actions and save the rain water. As a result,
we can increase the water levels of underground water by using underwater
recharge technique. Rain water detector will detect the rain and make an
alert; rain water detector is used in the irrigation field, home automation,
communication, automobiles etc.

We are interested in doing this project due to different reasons. Firstly, as we

know the rain is intermittent and seasonally varies .As a result it is important
to handle and utilize the incoming rain from the sky for irrigation and home
application. Secondly in communications it will boost the power of the
antenna and increase the signal strength to send or receive the signals. This
will enable us to forecast for the communication sector to reduce the network
problem that’s happening which is becoming the worst case in our country
Ethiopia.

2 BACKGROUND
The idea of collecting rain water has been around thousands of years.
Archeologists have found that the rain water harvesting system was
being used in the Negev desert 4000 years ago. in ancient Rome villas
had their own individual cisterns and the rain water was collected from
paved courtyards which made them less reliant on the supply fed by the
municipality. Today around the world rain water harvesting is enjoying
renaissance and systems are being extensively installed for domestic,
commercial and industrial use.
Rain water is ideal for washing machines;on average people use 20
litres a day for washing clothes.the advantage is that the soft rain water
allows the use of natural soaps and biological washing powders,which
are much more gentle on clothes than standard detergents.
Rain water can also used for washing and other cleaning tasks around
the home.

Waste not, want not is a common saying. If you waste an important resource,
you might find you don’t have enough of it when you want it.
One of the most important resources we have is clean water. in many part of
the world including the major parts of Ethiopia, water shortage pose serious
problems. in this project we will built an electric circuit that can-

 Detect when it is raining and

 Shutoff power such as to the sprinkler system
 Conserve the natural rain water that can be harnessed for different
purpose.

3 LITRATURE REVIEW

Rain alarm is a device which will really work as you wish what you want to do.
It is a device which will generate the signal when the rain comes. The
frequency will be more when the rain is heavy and the frequency is very less
when the rain will be low.
It all means that the frequency will depend upon the rain. The circuit will
generate melodious tone whenever the rain starts.

3.1 RAIN WATER SENSOR

A rain sensor is a rain switch device activated by a rain fall.there is two main
applications for rain sensor. the first is water conservation device connected
to an automatic irrigation system that cause the system to shutdown in the
event of rain fall. The second is a device used to protect the interior of an
automobile from rain and to support the automatic mode of wind screen
wipers. An additional application in professional satellite communications
antennas is to trigger a rain blower on the aperture of the antenna feed, to
remove water droplets.
Rain water sensor is the main component in the circuit. For this rain sensor,
no need to go and buy in the market. We can do it ourselves just by taking the
piece of Bakelite or mica board and aluminum wire.

3.2 IRRAGATION SENSOR

Rain sensor in irrigation systems are available in both wireless and hard-
wired versions, most employing hygroscopic disks that swell in the presence
of rain and shrink back down again as they dry out. . Wireless and wired
versions both use similar mechanisms to temporarily suspend watering by the
irrigation controller — specifically they are connected to the irrigation
controller's sensor terminals, or are installed in series with the solenoid valve
common circuit such that they prevent the opening of any valves when rain
has been sensed.

4 AIM OF THE PROJECT

The primary aim or purpose of the project are-

4.1To Conserve Water

there is a lot of water that you can save by using a rain sensor. By
automatically turning off your lawn irrigation system every time it rains, the
conserved water can be used in other essential purposes such as fighting fire.

4.2. To Prevent Disease Damage and Nutrient Loss

Over-watering prevent the roots of your plants from reaching deep into –the
ground making your plants vulnerable to disease. Over-watering is also one of
the major cause of nutrient loss in plants as excessive watering washes away
the nutrients of the soil leaving your plants weak and unhealthy.

4.3 To Save Money on Fertilizer

A rain sensor prevents you from overwatering your plants and lawn. When a
plant is overwatered, the nutrients from the turf wash away into the drainage
system. You have to compensate by adding more fertilizers to your lawn and
plants. This means spending more money on fertilizers. With a rain sensor
that effectively prevents your lawn irrigation system from overwatering your
lawn and plants, your garden turf will remain to be an ideal environment for
your plants in accordance with the fertilizer that you are using.
4.4. To Increase the Life-span of your Irrigation System

Using a rain sensor prevents unnecessary wear and tear of your lawn
irrigation system since it minimizes the amount of time that your lawn
irrigation is in operation. This is especially useful during the rainy season
where rain unpredictably come and go.

4.5To Prevent Groundwater and Waterways Pollution

A lawn irrigation system equipped with a rain sensor minimizes wasteful

runoff such as pesticides, motor oil, fertilizer, pet waste and sediments from
reaching your waterways. It also minimizes garden pollutants such as
herbicides and fertilizers from getting into your groundwater system.

5 METHODOLOGY
Since we have a growing interest to do the project, we will follow any
alternative ways to make our project real or get an output.

We will use the department computer laboratory to complete the first phase
of our project which is mostly the theoretical part. in this case we are capable
of the internet connection to get all the relevant information and to get the
project scheme.

For the second phase of our project we will use the department laboratories
to represent our project by equipments from the paper work. The laboratories
that we may use are digital and electronics lab.

6 PROJECT SECHEDULE PLAN

As it is indicated this project is the semester project we will try to complete in
this semester. To complete within the time scheduled we will perform our
tasks in three phases.

6.1 FIRST PHASE

This phase starts from the beginning of our project up to a certain activities.
This phase includes the following activities.

 Collection of all the relevant information regarding to the project

 Propose a scheme or model for the project
 Analysis of proposed scheme

6.2 SECOND PHASE

In this phase we will proceed to the practical aspect and representing the
project in real objects by assembling all the relevant equipments. This phase
includes the following activities.

 Selection of a particular scheme among the proposed scheme or model

 Collecting of all the relevant equipment or material for the scheme
 Implementation of scheme or model
 Making practical test of the project model

Note:-in this phase the particular scheme or model is

selected according to the cost of the equipment and ease
of construction of the hardware.

6.3 THIRD PHASE

This phase is a step in which we finalize our project and achieve a certain
output from the project work. it includes the following activities

 Result formulation and presentation of the project.

 Report presentation of the project.
In the following table we tried to schedule each activity starting from
the time in which our project gets approved.

activities Required time to

perform the
activities
Collection of all the relevant information 4 or 5 days
regarding to the project

Propose a scheme or model for the project One week

Analysis of proposed scheme One week

Selection of a particular scheme among the 2 or 3 days

proposed scheme or model

Collecting of all the relevant equipment or One week

material for the scheme

Implementation of scheme or model Two week

Making practical test of the project model One week

Result formulation and presentation of the project One week

Report presentation of the project >>

7 EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
This project can be constructed using cost effective materials that can
be obtained within affordable price and easily available on the market.
Consider the rain alarm circuit diagram given below.

Fig 1circuit diagram of rain alarm

As it is indicated above the materials or equipment that are required are
1 Resistor:-two resistor of 330k and 10k.
2 Transistor:-here in our project two types of transistor are used that
are NPN and PNP transistors that are used because of their low
operating voltages for greater safety and lowest cost. The transistors
used are BC 548 and BC 558 types.
3 capacitor (0.01mf):-
4Speaker:-this is a device used to get a melodious sound when the rain
falls and make contact with the probe.
5 battery(3v):-
6 probe:-it is used to sense when the rain comes. it transfer the signal to
the speaker then it will make a sound.
7 electric wires:-it is used to connect the circuit components of the
hardware.

Resistor

Capacitor
 Probe

Transistor

Speaker
Fig2 symbol of equipments that can be used in the project

Note- the materials used and the circuit diagram may

change if the selected materials are not available to get
at the time of implementation of the project.
 8 COST OF EQUIPMENT AND BUDGET ALLOCATION

As it is one of the governing factors to do our project we tried to be cost

efficient in the case of selection of equipment. the selected equipment
that are indicated above are as much as possible less cost and easily
affordable with a minimum cost.
When we analyze the source of fund it is mainly depend on our
individual contribution and the campus specifically the department. We
planned that, if the materials are available in the campus we try to get
from the campus if not we will bought the equipments from market.

8 CONCLUSION

Generally there was no question that water is very essential to our life.
We can summarize that, after the end of the project, it will give
enormous advantages for home, commercial and industrial appliances.