BioControle Turns Your Raspberry Pi into a Greenhouse Command Center

Setting up a greenhouse — or grow house if that’s your thing — is an expensive endeavor. Lights, irrigation, temperature control, and humidity control are all pricey systems, and then you need some way to monitor and control those systems if you want to grow anything efficiently. BioControle is a new Raspberry Pi add-on board from Upsilon Engineering that’s designed specifically to make that affordable and easy to configure.

BioControle just launched on Kickstarter, and the campaign is seeking a modest $7,705 in funding by October 17th. It’s built with most of the control components you’d need for a small aquaponic or hydroponic garden, but it’s also flexible enough to be useful for a wide range of similar applications. The BioControle board costs €76 (about $89 USD) and should ship in November, but you’ll also need to purchase a Raspberry Pi 3 or higher separately.

A lot of features are packed onto that small board. There are built-in inputs for two temperature sensors and two humidity sensors. Four power relay outputs can be used for grow lights, or whatever else you need. Two powered servo motor outputs can be used for something like a fish food dispenser. And, there are an additional two logical inputs and two logical outputs that are user-defined. All of the power connections are protected, so you don’t have to worry about your high-voltage systems damaging your Raspberry Pi.

If you’re building a new hydroponic garden, this may be your lowest-cost control option.