Content for Wind Sensor

This is a low-cost anemometer (wind sensor) made for use with electronic projects. It was originally inspired by a student project that required a breath sensor. We used a piezo type vibra-tab for that project but the sensor was glitchy, picked up sound and vibration and was hard to calibrate. I didn’t get this designed in time for the original project but I think it will solve certain problems in sensing wind speeds and human breath. The Wind Sensor is a thermal anemometer based on a traditional technique for measuring wind speed. The technique is called the “hot-wire” technique, and involves heating an element to a constant temperature and then measuring the electrical power that is required to maintain the heated element at temperature as the wind changes. This measured electrical input is then directly proportional to the square of the wind speed. Hot wire anemometers are available in hand-held packages resembling multimeters, and tend to cost about $300 but this is the first small sensor suitable for electronic experiments.