user23278: I am considering using an Arduino as a controller for a water treatment system and would love to hear your opinions. All it has to do is open/close a water gate (by starting/stopping a motor) at predefined times. It would have to...

Be able to connect to a phone using a usb cable. The phone would act as a UI to change settings and water flush times on the Arduino (via a custom app)
Log data which would be easily retrievable
Ideally, be able to connect to a cell network and send/receive packets. I believe there is a shield for this
Consume MINIMAL POWER. All it has to do is flush once every few days, log data, and possibly receive data from shield/usb. It would be running off of a solar panel and battery. In winter it could run out of power.

And thats pretty much it! Can this project be done with an Arduino? I would greatly appreciate any advice and recommendations!

user10794: Have a look at my Temperature and humidity sensor - battery powered. That works from 3 x AA batteries, and has been going for a few years. I think I replaced the batteries once. It keeps track of the time, and logs data to the disk (SD card).

I don't have room to describe the whole project here, but the general idea is that the processor sleeps most of the time (consuming around 6 µA). Now this particular project doesn't turn on a motor, but adding a solid-state relay should be all you need to do that.

Be able to connect to a phone using a usb cable. The phone would act as a UI to change settings and water flush times on the Arduino (via a custom app)

I think this will take a lot of power, keeping the phone active. One possible thing to try would be to power up the phone (eg. using another relay) during a certain "window" of time (eg. 6 pm to 7 pm). Then you would know to try to configure the device during that time.

23278: <p>I am considering using an Arduino as a controller for a water treatment system and would love to hear your opinions. All it has to do is open/close a water gate (by starting/stopping a motor) at predefined times. It would have to...</p>

<ul>
<li>Be able to connect to a phone using a usb cable. The phone would act as a UI to change settings and water flush times on the Arduino (via a custom app)</li>
<li>Log data which would be easily retrievable</li>
<li>Ideally, be able to connect to a cell network and send/receive packets. I believe there is a shield for this</li>
<li>Consume MINIMAL POWER. All it has to do is flush once every few days, log data, and possibly receive data from shield/usb. It would be running off of a solar panel and battery. In winter it could run out of power.</li>
</ul>

<p>And thats pretty much it! Can this project be done with an Arduino? I would greatly appreciate any advice and recommendations!</p>
 10794: <p>Have a look at my <a href="http://www.gammon.com.au/forum/?id=12106" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Temperature and humidity sensor - battery powered</a>. That works from 3 x AA batteries, and has been going for a few years. I think I replaced the batteries once. It keeps track of the time, and logs data to the disk (SD card).</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3rtDL.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/3rtDL.png" alt="Temperature logger"></a></p>

<p>I don't have room to describe the whole project here, but the general idea is that the processor sleeps most of the time (consuming around 6 µA). Now this particular project doesn't turn on a motor, but adding a solid-state relay should be all you need to do that.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Be able to connect to a phone using a usb cable. The phone would act as a UI to change settings and water flush times on the Arduino (via a custom app)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think this will take a lot of power, keeping the phone active. One possible thing to try would be to power up the phone (eg. using another relay) during a certain "window" of time (eg. 6 pm to 7 pm). Then you would know to try to configure the device during that time.</p>
