Solar for beehive monitoring is just one of the many ways we’ve seen our solar charging systems successfully integrated into IoT projects. Founded by hobbyist-beekeeper and electrical/system engineer Rich Morris, Broodminder allows fellow citizen scientists to monitor their own beehives remotely for better hive maintenance.
Bee populations are decreasing across the US, with an average hive loss of 30% over the winter season. To address this concern, Morris sought to develop a system that would provide beekeeping enthusiasts with a low cost option to properly maintain their own hives.
BroodMinder + Solar
With the help of Beekeeping.io, BroodMinder uses Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology and integrated circuit temperature and humidity chips to allow beekeepers to remotely monitor their hives without having to open them up. This allows for beekeepers, of all size, to make real-time decisions on what might be causing distress in the hives and report that data back to the beekeeping community.
For beekeepers who want more access, the BroodMinder – CELL uses our 3.5 Watt Solar Kit to power a hub that relays the data via a cellular connection. The rugged 3.5W solar panel allows beekeepers 24/7 access by powering the hub, which sends updates every hour.
If you’d like to get more information about adding solar to your IoT project, visit our Solar for IoT and Remote Sensors page.
i like the broodminder idea//how far away would theser work//can I have more than one Bee yard