Introduction

A humidity sensor (or hygrometer) senses, measures, and reports both moisture and air temperature. The ratio of moisture in the air to the highest amount of moisture at a particular air temperature is called relative humidity. Relative humidity becomes an important factor when looking for comfort.

Theory

The DHT11 detects water vapor by measuring the electrical resistance between two electrodes. The humidity-sensing component is a moisture-holding substrate with electrodes applied to the surface. When water vapor is absorbed by the substrate, ions are released by the substrate, which increases the conductivity between the electrodes. The change in resistance between the two electrodes is proportional to the relative humidity. Higher relative humidity decreases the resistance between the electrodes, while lower relative humidity increases the resistance between the electrodes. The DHT11 measures temperature with a surface-mounted NTC temperature sensor (thermistor) built into the unit.

Methodology

First, you have to download and install the library for DHT11. For more details and download the library, click here Connect the Temperature & Humidity sensor to the Magicbit via the left upper connector (D32). Then connect the Magicbit to your pc and upload the following code.

Code

#include "DHT.h"
#define DHTPIN 32
#define DHTTYPE DHT11
DHT dht(DHTPIN, DHTTYPE);

void setup() {
 Serial.begin(9600);
 Serial.println(F("DHTxx test!"));
 dht.begin();
}
void loop() {
  delay(2000);
  float h = dht.readHumidity();
  float t = dht.readTemperature();
  float f = dht.readTemperature(true);
  if (isnan(h) || isnan(t) || isnan(f)) {
  Serial.println(F("Failed to read from DHT sensor!"));
  return;
}
  float hif = dht.computeHeatIndex(f, h);
  float hic = dht.computeHeatIndex(t, h, false);
  Serial.print(F("Humidity: "));
  Serial.print(h);
  Serial.print(F("%  Temperature: "));
  Serial.print(t);
  Serial.print(F("°C "));
  Serial.print(f);
  Serial.print(F("°F  Heat index: "));
  Serial.print(hic);
  Serial.print(F("°C "));
  Serial.print(hif);
  Serial.println(F("°F"));
}