How to Read Internal Temperature of Raspberry Pi Pico W using On-Board Temperature Sensor

Raspberry Pi Pico W is a powerful microcontroller board equipped with various features, including an on-board temperature sensor. Utilizing this sensor allows you to monitor the temperature of the Pico W's environment, which can be particularly useful for ensuring optimal operating conditions or implementing temperature-based control systems.

In this guide, we'll walk through the process of reading the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi Pico W using its on-board temperature sensor.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following:

• Raspberry Pi Pico W board

• Thonny IDE or any other preferred MicroPython development environment

• MicroUSB cable for connecting Raspberry Pi Pico W to your computer

Steps to Read Internal Temperature

Step 1: Setup Development Environment

Connect your Raspberry Pi Pico W to your computer using a MicroUSB cable. Open your preferred MicroPython development environment, such as Thonny IDE.

Step 2: Write the Code

Let's write the code to read the internal temperature of the Pico W using its on-board temperature sensor.

from machine import ADC
import time

# Define the ADC pin connected to the temperature sensor
adcpin = 4

# Initialize the ADC object with the ADC pin
sensor = ADC(adcpin)

while True:
    # Read the ADC value
    adc_value = sensor.read_u16()

    # Convert ADC value to voltage
    volt = (3.3 / 65535) * adc_value

    # Calculate temperature using the voltage
    temperature = 27 - (volt - 0.706) / 0.001721

    # Round the temperature to one decimal place
    temperature = round(temperature, 1)

    # Print the temperature
    print("Temperature:", temperature, "°C")

    # Wait for 1 second before reading temperature again
    time.sleep(1)

Step 3: Run the Code

Copy the code to your MicroPython development environment and save it as a .py file. Run the code, and you should see the temperature readings printed to the console.

Step 4: Interpret the Results

Once the code is running, you'll see temperature readings printed to the console every second. These readings represent the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi Pico W.

Conclusion

Reading the internal temperature of the Raspberry Pi Pico W using its on-board temperature sensor is a straightforward process. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily monitor the temperature of your Pico W board for various applications, such as environmental monitoring or temperature-based control systems.

Experiment with the code and explore additional functionalities to enhance your projects further. Happy coding!