For loop with if statement for ardiuno powered humidity control - c++

Question

Really simple question but I'm not entirely sure how to incorporate a for loop in the if statement I have. Context: I have a humidifier I am trying to automate based on the humidity of the room. I'm using an ardiuno, dht11 humidity sensor and a servo. The humidifier knob has three settings (high low off) and so the servo has three positions. I have the code running so the servo turns appropriately according to the humidity level. The issue is that it fluctuates very easily. To correct that I'm looking to incorporate a for loop so that after let say 60 one second iterations of the humidity being greater than 55 the servo moves. I tried to add a for loop but it doesn't seem to be working.
But this is only my solution based on the little programming I know. If there is a better solution or even an equally viable alternative I'd love to know. I'm currently studying mechanical engineering but I'm finding that to really make something one needs a background in electronics and code. I'm trying to learn both independently through a series of projects and so I'm quite eager to learn. Hopefully this helps explain why I'm asking such a simple questions to begin with.
#include <dht.h>
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo;//create servo object to control a servo
dht DHT;
#define DHT11_PIN 7 // pin for humidity sensor ( also measure temp)
void setup() {
myservo.attach(9);//attachs the servo on pin 9 to servo object
myservo.write(0);//statting off position at 0 degrees
delay(1000);//wait for a second
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
int chk = DHT.read11(DHT11_PIN); // the follow is just so that I can see the readings come out properly
Serial.print("Temperature = ");
Serial.println(DHT.temperature);
Serial.print("Humidity = ");
Serial.println(DHT.humidity);
delay(500);
if (DHT.humidity > 55) // here is where my code really begins
{
for (int i=0; i>60; i++); // my goal is to execute the follow code after the statement above has been true for 60 one second iterations
{
myservo.write(0);//goes to off position
delay(1000);//wait for a second
}
} else if (DHT.humidity > 40 ) {
for (int i=0; i>60; i++); // same thing here
myservo.write(90);//goes to low position
delay(1000);//wait for a second
}
else
{
for (int i=0; i>60; i++);
myservo.write(180);//goes to high position
delay(1000);
}
} // end of void loop()

Answer 1

Just addressing your question, the following line is incorrect:
for (int i=0; i>60; i++);
Two things:
1) The second statement in the for loop describes the conditions on which it executes. The way it is written, it will only execute when i>60 (not what you want according to the comments).
2) The semicolon after the for statement makes the next block unassociated.
Correct that line to the following:
for (int i=0; i<60; i++)
See the following for more information:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_for_loop.htm
It would probably be helpful to examine your compiler warnings, and/or set a higher warning level, to catch these type of things early (this is, of course, somewhat compiler dependent).

Answer 2

I guess you trying kind of de-bouncing at you need humid level stay in same range for some period.
First, I define conversion function to map humid level to state
#define HUMID_OFF 1
#define HUMID_LOW 2
#define HUMID_HIGH 3
byte state_conv (float humid_level){
if (humid_level > 55) return HUMID_OFF ;
else if (humid_level > 40 ) return HUMID_LOW ;
else return HUMID_HIGH ;
}
Second I will check changing of state and use millis() to count time while current state is steady. if counting time are longer than threshold then change the actual state.
/*Global variable*/
byte actual_state;
byte flag_state;
void setup (){
// Do things that necessary
float humid = dht.readHumidity();
/*Initialize value*/
actual_state = state_conv(humid);
flag_state= state_conv(humid);
}
void loop(){
static unsigned long timer = millis();
float humid = dht.readHumidity();
byte crr_state = state_conv(humid);
if (crr_state != actual_state ){// if state is changing
if (flag_state != crr_state){
/if crr_state change form last iteration then reset timer
flag_state = crr_state;/
timer = millis();
}
else if (millis() - timer > 10000){
//if crr_state not change for 10000 ms (10 second)
actual_state = crr_state; // update actual state to crr_state
}
}
// After this use actual_state to control servo
if (actual_state == HUMID_OFF ){
myservo.write(0);//goes to off position
}
else if (actual_state == HUMID_LOW ){
myservo.write(90);//goes to low position
}
else if (actual_state == HUMID_HIGH ){
myservo.write(180);//goes to high position
}
}

Answer 3

DHT.humidity returns a float, so if you want to compare, then first store this in an int, and then compare.