Pimoroni Enviro for Raspberry Pi: environmental sensors and LCD screen

Description

The Pimoroni Enviro boards turn a Raspberry Pi into an environmental monitoring station, with a range of sensors and a small colour display to show the data. Two versions are available: Enviro (ref. PIM486), designed for indoor monitoring, and Enviro + Air Quality (ref. PIM458), which adds air quality measurement.

Both boards measure temperature, pressure, humidity, light and sound level. They plug onto the 40-pin connector of a Raspberry Pi and are controlled with a Python library supplied by Pimoroni, along with examples for each component and a getting-started tutorial.

The Enviro + Air Quality version was developed with the University of Sheffield. Combined with a particle sensor, it can monitor the air outside the home and share its data with citizen science projects such as Sensor Community.

Highlights

• Complete measurements: temperature, pressure, humidity, light, proximity and noise.
• Built-in display: 0.96 inch colour LCD, 160 x 80 pixels.
• Python library: examples for each component and all-in-one examples.
• Ready to use: fully assembled board, in pHAT format.
• Expandable: connector compatible with Pimoroni breakout modules.

Which version should you choose?

• Enviro (PIM486): for indoor monitoring, in a room or an office.
• Enviro + Air Quality (PIM458): to also measure polluting gases, and particles with an additional sensor.

Technical specifications

Common to both versions:

• Temperature, pressure and humidity: BME280 sensor
• Light and proximity: LTR-559 sensor
• Sound: MEMS microphone
• Screen : 0.96 inch colour LCD, 160 x 80 pixels
• Form factor: pHAT, fully assembled
• Connector: header compatible with Pimoroni breakout modules
• Dimensions : 65 x 30 x 8.5 mm
• Compatibility : all Raspberry Pi models with a 40-pin header

Additional on Enviro + Air Quality (PIM458):

• Gas: MICS6814 analogue sensor
• Analogue-to-digital converter: ADS1015 (some boards made in 2021 have an ADS1115, automatically detected by the Python library)
• Particles: connector for a particle sensor, sold separately

Use cases

• Room monitoring: temperature, humidity, light and noise in a home or an office, with the option of sending the data to a server.
• Air quality station: Enviro + Air Quality and a particle sensor, to contribute to Sensor Community.
• Home automation : trigger an action depending on light or temperature.
• Learning project: sensors, display and Python combined on a single board.

Compatibility and what you need to know

The gas sensor provides qualitative readings: it indicates whether the concentrations of the three gas groups are rising or falling. Without calibration or laboratory conditions, it does not give a value in parts per million.

The particle sensor, such as the PMS5003, is not included. The board is not waterproof by itself: for outdoor installation, Pimoroni publishes a tutorial for mounting it in a weather-resistant case.

You will need a Raspberry Pi with its 40-pin connector. A model sold without a connector requires you to solder a header before the board can be plugged in.

Box contents

• 1 Pimoroni Enviro or Enviro + Air Quality board, depending on the version chosen, fully assembled

Frequently asked questions