If you have a greenhouse, exotic plants, or even a vivarium, then measuring CO2 accurately may be critical to your ecosystem’s success. And that’s where the Adafruit SCD-40 breakout board comes into play. Unlike the typical ‘gas’ sensors out there that approximate the amount of VOCs in the air, the SCD-40 is a photoacoustic, ‘true’ CO2 sensor that can tell you the specific CO2 PPM composition of the surrounding ambient air. It’s a true measurement of CO2 concentration.
The board also features Adafruit’s STEMMA QT form factor which allows you to wire it up
quickly, without soldering, via their QT connectors and cables. And, if you need even more range in measuring CO2, typically only in industrial situations, they also sell a version that features an SCD-41 sensor. It costs a little bit more, but you also get an extended range, and increased accuracy. Head on over to the product page to learn more about accurately reading CO2 levels.
They give the board a 9/10, saying “Accurate readings are what this is all about.”
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.