What are the application scenarios of solar water conductivity (EC) sensor with LoRa wireless transmission?

Wireless transmission LoRa Solar water quality conductivity (EC) sensor with the core advantages of "wireless long-distance transmission, solar autonomous power supply, real-time monitoring of water quality EC value" can break through wiring and power supply restrictions, and be widely used in outdoor, remote or large-scale water quality monitoring scenarios, which can be divided into the following categories:

1、Agriculture and crop industry: ensure irrigation water security and improve crop quality

EC value can reflect the concentration of salt (such as sodium, chloride ions) and nutrients in irrigation water, and is a key index to determine whether irrigation water is suitable for crop growth. This sensor is mainly used for:

l Farmland Irrigation Monitoring: Deployed in irrigation canals and reservoirs of contiguous farmlands for wheat, corn, cotton, etc., to monitor EC values in real time. If the EC value is excessively high (exceeding salt limits), irrigation strategies can be adjusted promptly (such as increasing the frequency of saline washing irrigation) to prevent crop root damage and yield reduction caused by salinity stress.

l Hydroponic/Agricultural Greenhouses: These systems are installed in greenhouse drip irrigation setups and nutrient solution tanks to precisely control the EC (Electrical Conductivity) levels of irrigation water or nutrient solutions. For example, when growing tomatoes and cucumbers, maintaining specific EC ranges is crucial to ensure nutrient absorption. Sensor data can be directly linked to irrigation equipment, enabling automated regulation.

l Orchard irrigation management: deployed in the reservoir or irrigation branch of apple orchards and citrus orchards to prevent high salt irrigation water from causing yellow leaves and poor taste of fruits (such as thickened fruit skin due to salt damage in citrus).

2、Aquaculture: Regulate water environment and reduce aquaculture risks

In aquaculture, EC value is closely related to water salinity, dissolved oxygen and fertility, which directly affect the survival and growth of fish and shrimp. The application scenarios of sensors include:

l Freshwater Aquaculture (Fish, Shrimp, Crab): Deploy monitoring systems in pond and cage farming areas to track EC (Electrical Conductivity) fluctuations. Sudden EC spikes may indicate infiltration of industrial wastewater or domestic sewage, or intensified eutrophication. This allows for timely alerts and prompt measures like water replacement and oxygenation to prevent pond surface flooding incidents.

l Marine/Saline Aquaculture (Sea Cucumber, Shellfish, Marine Fish): Installed in tidal flats and industrial aquaculture ponds, this system continuously monitors EC levels to maintain optimal salinity. For instance, sea cucumbers thrive in water with specific salinity levels. When EC values experience abnormal fluctuations (such as sudden drops caused by heavy rainfall), the system can instantly activate salinity regulation equipment.

l Seedling stage monitoring: Aquaculture seedling has very high requirements on water quality. Sensors are deployed in the seedling pool to ensure the survival rate of seedlings by stabilizing EC value (for example, shrimp seedlings are sensitive to salinity changes, and stable EC value can reduce stress response).

3、Ecological and environmental monitoring: protecting natural water bodies and warning of pollution risks

For rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other natural water bodies, the sensor can realize remote, unattended dynamic monitoring of water quality, which is specifically applied to:

l Surface Water Environmental Monitoring: Deployed at critical monitoring points within river basins (e.g., river mouths, reservoir intakes, and lake shores), this system continuously transmits EC value data in real time. When EC levels spike abruptly, it may indicate illegal discharge of high-salinity/high-ionic wastewater (e.g., from chemical plants or textile dyeing facilities). Environmental authorities can swiftly pinpoint the pollution source and initiate remediation measures.

l Wetland ecological protection: Install in ecologically sensitive areas such as marshes and wetland parks to monitor the EC value of water bodies to reflect the health status of wetland hydrological cycle. For example, abnormal decrease of EC value in wetland water bodies may be caused by reduced upstream inflow leading to water degradation, which can assist ecological restoration decisions.

l Drinking water source monitoring: deployed in the buffer zone around drinking water sources such as reservoirs and lakes. The purity of water can be indirectly judged by the EC value (low EC value may indicate that the water is too pure and lacks minerals, while high EC value may indicate that there is pollution), so as to provide data support for drinking water security.

4、Industrial and special fields: control of wastewater discharge, ensure production safety

In industrial production, EC value is an important basis for monitoring the compliant discharge of wastewater and ensuring the stability of production process. It is mainly used in:

l Industrial wastewater discharge monitoring: Installed at the discharge outlets of enterprises such as chemical, electroplating and food processing industries to monitor in real-time whether the EC value meets environmental protection standards. For instance, electroplating wastewater contains large amounts of metal ions (such as chromium and nickel), which typically have high EC values. If the levels exceed the standard, an alarm will be triggered to prevent illegal discharge.

l Circulating water system monitoring: deployed in cooling circulating water systems of electric power, steel and other industries to monitor EC value to control water hardness (high EC value is easy to scale, affecting cooling efficiency), assist in adding scale inhibitors, and reduce equipment maintenance costs.

l Monitoring of pure water/ultrapure water preparation: installed in the pure water preparation process of electronics and pharmaceutical industry, the purity of water is judged by EC value (the EC value of pure water is very low, usually <10μS/cm), so as to ensure that the pure water used in production meets the requirements of the process (such as ultrapure water is needed in electronic chip production to avoid ion interference).