ESP8266 Hydroponics

This is part of a little project to create a small hydroponics garden that can be placed in a window that uses flood drain style hydroponics The intention at this point is for the garden to be self contained and run from a solar charged battery pack, however providing for a hardwired version also especially during testing Once a base system has been tested I will post a parts list and other design information up as part of this repo.

Use cases

1. Small kitchen herb garden
2. Bedroom window flower garden
3. Office window plants

Features

1. A small and self contained window garden
2. Easily accessable and easily cleaned reservoir
3. Overflow prevention
4. Use of cheap commodity parts
5. Either mains or solar/battery powered

Requirements

1. Must be able to run a small pump
2. Must be able to cope with real time for scheduling etc
3. Must connect to a wifi network
4. Must be able to sense water level in both the reservoir and bed
5. Must be able to sense light (P2)
6. Must be able to sense voltage for (P2)
   1. battery level
   2. solar input

Parts list

1. ESP8266 Microcontroller
2. Water pump (get specs)

Phasing

MVP

Apply Dave's razor, what are the minimum number of features/capabilities required for the current project intention to be realised? Intention for MVP - provide a development platform for testing the flood drain and timing capabilities. A basic working model that provides pump control and the minimum number of sensors for operation