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Low-Cost Open Source IoT-Based SCADA System for a BTS Site Using ESP32
and Arduino IoT Cloud

Conference Paper · December 2021

DOI: 10.1109/UEMCON53757.2021.9666691

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 Low-Cost Open Source IoT-Based SCADA System
for a BTS Site Using ESP32 and Arduino IoT Cloud
Cyprian N. Oton M. Tariq Iqbal
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, NL, Canada
St. John’s, NL, Canada
tariq@mun.ca
cnoton@mun.ca

Abstract—A low-cost open source IoT-based SCADA fourth generation of SCADA architecture which is the
system for a rural BTS site using ESP32 and Arduino IoT Internet of Things (IoT) configuration. IoT SCADA have
Cloud is presented in this work. Current, voltage, several advantages, including remote assess/control, real-
temperature, and humidity sensors are programmed to time monitoring and alarming, data sharing, data
measure relevant parameters of interest, and the measured manipulation and visualization, system optimization, trend
Data is processed and parsed to the Arduino IoT Cloud via a analysis, flexibility, and increased productivity. In [3, 4],
Wi-Fi network communication channel. A widget-based our previous work on designing, sizing, and dynamic
dashboard is created on the Arduino IoT Cloud to monitor modeling of a DC hybrid power system for a remote
and control the system. A mobile application is also deployed
telecommunication facility in Nigeria was examined. This
to aid remote monitoring and control as well. LEDs are used
to implement a high temperature and low voltage control
work presents the SCADA aspect of the work using a
logic. A prototype is used to demonstrate this as an illustration prototype.
of what is obtainable in a Base Transceiver Station (BTS),
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
where the voltage must be within a specific value (48 V) and
the temperature within an acceptable value too. Monitoring, control, and instrumentation is a very
crucial aspect of mobile base station sites operation. Several
Keywords—SCADA, ESP32, Arduino IoT Cloud, sensors, parameters are simultaneously monitored for effective and
Internet of Things. optimal operation with limited downtime. The significant
parameters of interest are the voltage and temperature,
I. INTRODUCTION which have a direct impact on the site. The voltage must stay
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) is within a stipulated range of value, and for a temperate region
a system with a primary objective of controlling and like, Nigeria, the temperature must be monitored and
monitoring devices in the field, mostly located in very controlled for continuous operation of the site. The SCADA
remote and obscure places. Deploying a SCADA system on system currently operational on the site is proprietary with
any process/plant also ensures full automation of that all the associated disadvantages and costs.
process/plant. Various conditions and parameters of the
Several studies have been presented using a Web-based
system can be accurately measured, monitored, and
SCADA system. In [5], the authors presented a Web-
controlled optimally and in real-time. The efficiency of the
SCADA system to monitor and control a Wind-PV power
process/plant is greatly improved because of the real-time
system using the IntegraXor software to create and view the
nature of the data collection, processing, and carrying out
graphical interface and ATMEGA8535 microcontrollers
the control action when necessary. Since these are achieved
interfaced with several sensors to measure relevant data.
automatically, the chance of failure is minimized as human
The IntegraXor software is complicated to understand. In
errors which had hitherto been prevalent are eliminated.
[6], a Web-based, low-cost SCADA system was applied to
For a mobile telecommunication site located in a very control a renewable energy system microgrid. Arduino
remote area, a reliable SCADA system cannot be boards were used to measure relevant electrical and
overemphasized as a human operator cannot be stationed at environmental data using appropriate sensors. The
the site continuously for monitoring. With an effective measured data was sent to a local database hosted on a
SCADA system, the frequency of visits by the operators is Raspberry Pi. A wireless radio frequency transceiver
reduced significantly, thereby reducing the overall created the communication link between the microcontroller
operation cost of the site. and the Raspberry Pi. The system is very complex to build,
demanding the knowledge of HTML, MySQL, and lots of
SCADA leverages the coalescence of hardware C++ codes. These can be very hard to implement.
components like sensors and actuators and software
programs like the Human Machine Interface (HMI) to In [7], a SCADA system to monitor the electrical
perform its four primary functions: data acquisition, parameters of a stand-alone solar photovoltaic system is
networked data communication, data presentation, and presented. This work focuses on the electrical parameters of
monitoring and control [1, 2]. To carry out these functions the solar system and battery efficiency. No environmental
effectively, SCADA relies on various elements. These parameter is considered, and there is no room for remote
elements are Field Instrument Devices (FIDs) like sensors control of the system. The authors in [2] developed IoT
and actuators, Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) like based open source SCADA system for a PV system to
microcontrollers and microprocessors, Master Terminal monitor solar panel current, voltage, and backup battery
Units (MTUs) in this case, the Arduino IoT Cloud and the voltage. It uses Arduino Uno as the remote terminal unit for
communication network in the case a Wi-Fi network receiving the measured sensor data, and a Raspberry Pi is
provided by my home router. This work is based on the used as the communication channel to parse the measured
data to Emoncms platform for storage, monitoring, and control logic, respectively. The Wi-Fi compatibility of the
control. microcontroller is leveraged to create the connection with
the Arduino IoT Cloud. Dashboards are created in the Cloud
In all the work reviewed, there are minor limitations that to monitor and control the various variables of interest. A
this paper seeks to address. Implementing this work on the mobile application can also be used to control and monitor
Arduino IoT Cloud platform offers a significant level of the variables from anywhere in the world. The connected
simplicity as the code is not written from scratch. sensors are the FIDs, and the microcontroller is the RTU.
Significant code is pre-written by just declaring the The Arduino IoT Cloud represents the MTU, while the Wi-
variables. Fi router at home creates the communication link. The three
III. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN sensors are the DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor,
MH electronics voltage sensor, and ACS 712 Hall-Effect
The simplified version of the studied DC hybrid system current sensor. The features and properties of these sensors
for a rural BTS site is illustrated in Fig. 1. Some parameters are further discussed and examined below.
of interest for monitoring purposes are highlighted, albeit
not exhaustive of what is typically monitored and controlled A. DHT11 Digital Temperature and Humidity Sensor
on the site. The connected components have local This sensor ensures excellent reliability and accuracy by
controllers that can receive a control signal remotely and employing an innovative digital signal acquisition technique
carry out the control action via an actuator. The power and temperature and humidity sensing technologies to read
management system implements the supervisory control. the digital signal output. The sensor links to a high-
performance 8-bit microcontroller and combines a resistive-
type humidity measurement component and a Negative
Temperature Coefficient (NTC) measuring component,
providing excellent quality, fast response, anti-interference
ability, and cost-effectiveness. It has a temperature range of
0 to 50°C, a humidity range of 20% to 90%, 1°C
temperature, and 1% humidity precision, respectively.
DHT11 comes in two alternative pin layouts, with either
four or three pins. The three-pin configuration is used in this
work. Vcc is the power supply, Ground is the circuit ground,
Data is the serial data output reading the temperature and
humidity. The operating voltage of the sensor is between 3
- 5.5 V. A 10kΩ pull-up resistor is used to connect the output
Fig. 1. Hybrid power system showing connected devices.
pin to the Vcc of the microcontroller. For this work, we are
The system proposes an open source, low-cost connecting the data pin to GPIO 33 of the ESP32
supervisory control, and data acquisition system using the microcontroller. Fig.3 shows the connection of the sensor
recently upgraded Arduino IoT cloud platform to monitor to the ESP32 microcontroller.
and control the prototype of our hybrid system. Current,
voltage, temperature, and humidity sensors are connected to
the ESP32 microcontroller to read the voltage, current,
temperature, and humidity and trigger the relevant LED
when the voltage goes below a pre-set value and
temperature goes above a stipulated value, as will be
explained further in the course of this work. These data can
be monitored and controlled from the Arduino cloud
dashboards and anywhere using mobile applications. The
schematic diagram of the proposed IoT SCADA is shown in
Fig. 2. Fig. 3. The connection between ESP32 and DHT11

B. Voltage Sensor Module

This sensor operates by using the voltage divider
principle to measure the voltage. It has an embedded series
connection of 7.5 kΩ and 30 kΩ resistors to achieve a
voltage divider of 5 to 1 for the measurement. The range of
operational voltage for the sensor is between 3.3 – 5.0 V,
and using a 12-bit ADC can measure voltage in the range of
0 – 25 V DC. Voltage sensors are usually connected in
parallel to the voltage source (a 9V AC/DC adapter or a
battery) to measure its voltage. ESP32 operates on a 3.3 V
Fig. 2. Schematic of the Proposed IoT SCADA system input voltage. The sensor is connected directly to measure
the voltage as follows: The voltage sensor's pin S is
IV. IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY connected to analog pin 32 on the ESP32, and pin – is
As a proof of concept, a circuit is designed and connected to the ESP32's GND pin, with the sensor's GND
implemented on a breadboard with three sensors; voltage, and VCC pins connected across positive and negative
current, and temperature and humidity sensors connected to terminals of the 9 V /5 V buck converter as shown in Fig. 4.
the microcontroller (ESP32) to read the sensor values. The The converter is used as the breadboard power supply to
yellow LED is used as the load for which the current flowing provide the needed 5 V needed for the circuit.
through is measured, while the green and the red LED
implements the under-voltage logic and over-temperature
 uses a dual-core, individually controlled CPU that clocks at
an adjustable frequency between 80 MHz to 240 MHz. A
co-processor can be employed to save power during low
power demanding tasks. It has an infinitesimal sleep mode
current (5 µA), making it suitable for battery-powered
applications. The Wi-Fi capability of the microcontroller is
leveraged to implement the connection to the Arduino IoT
Cloud. The Arduino Integrated Development Environment
(IDE) in the Cloud is used to write the sketches. The
measured data from the sensors are acquired by the board,
Fig. 4. Interfacing diagram of the voltage sensor with ESP32
displayed on the Arduino cloud serial monitor, and sent to
C. ACS712 Hall-Effect Current Sensor the dashboard for monitoring.
As the name implies, this sensor works on the principle E. Wi-Fi Router (Communication Link)
of Hall-Effect, a phenomenon where a current-carrying
Actiontec R3000 FibreOP router is used to create the
conductor placed in a magnetic field generates a voltage
communication channel between ESP32 (RTU) and the
perpendicular to both the current and the magnetic field.
Arduino IoT Cloud MTU). The data transfer rate of this
This generated voltage is used to measure the current. It is a
router is 1 Gbps over ethernet and up to 2.3 Gbps over Wi-
fully integrated, economical, and relatively high precision
Fi in dual-band, dual-concurrent 2.4G, 802.11n, and 5G,
sensor that employs a non-inversive method of current
802.11ac. Since ESP32 can implement the TCP/IP IEEE
measurement by measuring the magnetic field created in the
802.11 b/g/n, it is seamlessly connected to the router using
wire. ACS712 Hall-Effect sensor can measure both DC and
the network SSID and password. The router is configured to
AC by using a low-resistance current conductor. The sensed
provide the needed Wi-Fi connection for the
circuit and the sensing circuit are electrically isolated.
implementation of the project. The router's credentials
It requires a 5 V DC to power it and comes in three (SSID and the password) provide the needed security
versions of 5A, 20A, and 30A and gives a 2.5 V DC output against unauthorized access to the system. The login
when no current is detected. Its sensitivity/scale factor credential of the Arduino IoT Cloud is another layer of
ranges from 66 mV/A for 5A, 100 mV/A for 20A, and 185 security.
mV/A for the 30A module. Because the current sensor's
F. Arduino IoT Cloud Platform
signal voltage is 5 V, it is not compatible with direct
connection to the ESP32 microcontroller's ADC pins that The Arduino community has recently released Arduino
operate between 0 - 3.3 V. As a result, a pull-down resistors IoT Cloud, an IoT platform. The Arduino IoT Cloud
arrangement is implemented to match the current sensor's 5 features an end-to-end solution that makes creating
V signal demand to the ESP32 3.3 V ADC signal capacity, networked projects simple for creators, IoT enthusiasts, and
ensuring the accuracy of the measured values [8]. Fig. 4.6 professionals from inception to delivery. HTTP REST API,
shows the connection of ACS712 sensor with a step-down MQTT, command-line tools, JavaScript, and WebSocket,
resistor configuration to provide the necessary voltage input are some of the interaction methods supported by the
to the ESP32. Current sensors are always connected in series platform. Multiple devices can be linked together, and data
with the load or source on which the current is measured. can be exchanged in real-time. A simple user interface
allows to monitor data from anywhere and execute control
when necessary. This platform works with specific Arduino
microcontrollers or a third-party board that is compatible
with the platform. The third-party boards are ESP32 and
ESP8266 microcontroller boards. All cloud-compatible
boards come with a cryptographic co-processor with secure
hardware-based key storage for enhanced security key
storage. The steps involved in creating a project on the
Arduino IoT Cloud and all the associated steps,
components, and terms are listed below [9, 10]
• Creating Arduino IoT Cloud Account and Cloud
Fig. 5. ACS712 connection to ESP32 microcontroller Plan: Like with every other platform, the first step
is to sign up using a functional email address and
The voltage divider equation uses a 1 kΩ and 2 kΩ select a plan.
resistor combination and is expressed as shown in equation
(1) • Creating a “Thing”: A "Thing" is the foundation
of all Arduino IoT Cloud projects. The term "Thing"
(1) refers to a cloud-based virtual item. It stores
variables and information about linked devices and
is the ESP32 voltage, and is the sensor input networks safely. An online "Thing" editor can
voltage. generate a Thing for each project you make in the
D. ESP32 – WROOM – 32 Module (RTU) Cloud. A blend of variables, a device, network
information, and a sketch will make up an item [9].
This is a powerful microcontroller that supports Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) used in • Connecting Devices to a Network:
diverse applications. Wi-Fi's connecting radius is wider than Microcontrollers that link to the Cloud are known as
Bluetooth, which senses the module and connects it to a devices. Some Arduino microcontrollers and a few
smartphone with low-energy beacons. The microprocessor third-party boards like the ESP32 used in this work
 can also suffice. The network is the Wi-Fi green LED comes on. This control logic is synonymous with
credentials, SSID, and password. The ESP32 used what is obtainable in the field, where an air conditioner or
in this work, like other third-party microcontrollers, an extraction fan regulates the temperature in the shelter or
requires a "secret key" which the Arduino IoT cabin of a BTS site, and the green LED represents the
Cloud editor will create when the device starting relay of a diesel generator that comes ON when
(microcontroller) is added along with the network voltage drops below a certain threshold (~ 46 V). The
credentials. ESP32 can be connected either through the USB port or
using Over-the-Air (OTA) to upload sketches wirelessly
• Creating and Declaring Cloud Variables: from the Cloud to the board. The prototype is shown in fig.6,
Variables are locations where data are stored. It has and the flowchart for the SCADA system in fig. 7.
a name, holds a value, and are of a particular type.
These variables, once declared, are available to the
attached microcontroller and the dashboard as well.
Its can either be Read and Write or Read Only to.
For variables that need to be controlled, we use the
Read and Write option, while we use the Read-Only
option for variables we are interested in just
monitoring.
• Creating Sketches and Dashboard: Sketches are
the C++ programs written to the microcontroller to
execute a defined command. One prominent feature
in Arduino IoT Cloud is that when creating a
"Thing", a significant portion of the sketch is
written automatically when the variables are
Fig. 6. Experimental circuit setup for the IoT SCADA system prototype
declared. Sketches are written and edited directly in
the Thing editor or using the Arduino Web editor. A
dashboard is employed for monitoring and
controlling the IoT Cloud Thing. Several widgets
are used to build the dashboard and declared
variables are linked to the appropriate widget and
labeled accordingly. The dashboard can be
monitored on the web browser and/or a mobile
application on any Android or IOS device to carry
out remote monitoring and control.
• Installing Arduino Create Agent: Arduino create
agent is installed on the PC used for this work. This
agent links the PC's USB port on which the
microcontroller is connected and the Arduino IoT
Cloud. This is necessary because the encryption
built into the web browser prevents a website from
connecting directly to a PC resource which is
essential to our 'Thing' and web editor to work [9].
V. HARDWARE PROTOTYPE DESIGN
The proposed system prototype to demonstrate
monitoring and control of a small hybrid power system is Fig. 7. Flowchart of the IoT SCADA system solution
designed on a breadboard. The system consists of 9 V
AC/DC adapter or (battery), DC/DC converter, current VI. TESTING AND RESULTS
sensor, voltage sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, The prototype circuit is shown above, and the current,
LEDs (red, green, and yellow), ESP32-WROOM-32 voltage, temperature and humidity were logged every 2
microcontroller, and some pull-down resistors. The 9V is seconds over a period using charts. Instantaneous
stepped down to approximately 5.5 V by the DC/DC temperature and humidity were also monitored using a
converter. The yellow LED represents the load. A current gauge. Gauges are very conspicuous to see the
sensor is connected to analog Pin 34 of ESP32 in series with instantaneous values being measured compared to tracing it
the yellow LED to measure the current flowing through the on a chart. The current measured is that flowing through the
LED. The voltage sensor is connected to analog Pin 32 of load LED (Yellow), and the unit is in milliamp. The voltage
ESP32 across the output of the DC/DC converter to measure measured is the output voltage of the DC/DC converter in
its output voltage (input voltage to the system). The Volt. The temperature and humidity are that of the
temperature and humidity sensor is connected to analog pin surrounding. Arduino IoT remote mobile application is also
33 of the ESP32 microcontroller to read the environmental installed on my mobile phone where remote monitoring and
temperature and humidity. The red and green LEDs, with control can also be carried out from anywhere around the
the appropriate "If statements" in the code are used to world with the requirement of internet connection and
implement a control logic. They are connected to analog access to the Arduino IoT account login details. The login
pins 18 and 19 on ESP 32 microcontroller, respectively. details ensure only authorized persons have access to the
When the temperature is greater than 23°C, the red LED system to monitor and execute any control action. Fig.8.
comes on. If the measured voltage is less than 4.5 V, the shows the dashboard of the different parameters. The D
represents the days, while H represents the hour. Live is the measured Data both on the PC and mobile device(s).
instantaneous value recorded by the sensors at the very time. Supervisory control can also be carried out both on the PC
dashboard or with the mobile device from anywhere with an
internet connection and login details. This provides some
form of security from unauthorized personnel.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The place of monitoring and control in a critical
infrastructure like the base transceiver station cannot be
over-emphasized. An IoT-based, open source SCADA
system is proposed to remedy the limitations of the
proprietary SCADA currently in operation. A prototype
circuit was used to demonstrate this concept. Three (3)
sensors were connected to read the analog values of current,
Fig. 8. Dashboard showing the measured parameters at different times. voltage, temperature, and humidity. These data are sent
over the Wi-Fi to the Arduino IoT Cloud for monitoring
The historical data stored depends on the Arduino plan
and control through the created dashboard. There is also a
chosen. The more expensive plans have a higher data
storage capacity compared to the free plan and the less mobile application for remote monitoring from anywhere
expensive plan. around the world. The cost, though being a prototype, is
negligible compared to the proprietary option, and the
To demonstrate the control capability of the system, the power consumption is very low as well.
surrounding temperature is increased to 24°C. Once a higher
temperature is recorded beyond our predefined value of IX. FUTURE WORK
23°C, the red LED comes ON. The LED goes OFF once the The study has been conducted on a prototype circuit. In
temperature goes below the pre-set value. The voltage the future, the authors would like to demonstrate this
control can be carried out in the same manner as the
system on a physical rural telecommunication site to
temperature. When the voltage drops to 4.5 V, the green
determine the accuracy to which this system can monitor
LED turns ON and stays ON until the voltage increases
above the predefined value. and control the sites' parameters and compare its cost to the
proprietary SCADA in use. A database can be incorporated
to read the data into a spreadsheet. Also, automatic email
and text messages can be sent to relevant authorized
personnel to be abreast of the events happening on the site.
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