www.sensirion.com August 2016 - Version 5 4/5
Datasheet Evaluation Kit EK-H5
For Humidity and Temperature Sensors
Simple and easy-to-use evaluation kit
Viewer software available for download
USB Interface
Product Summary
The evaluation kit is made for running Sensirion’s humidity
and temperature sensors. It is held very compact: a USB
dongle with USB to I2C translator capabilities allows
connecting the sensor directly to the USB port. With the
accompanying viewer software it is possible to
communicate with the sensors, display measured values
and export data into a csv file. The evaluation kit is
available in two versions. The standard version is available
for sensors that can operate at 3.3 V, while the 1.8V
version is for the sensors operated at 1.8 V.
The viewer software can be downloaded from the
Sensirion web page and allows logging data for SHT3x,
SHTW2, SHTC1, SHT7x and for STSC1, STS21. For the
SHT3x sensor series it is possible to use the alert function,
the internal heater as well as the ART function. The main
purpose of the evaluation kit is to demonstrate the unique
performance of Sensirion’s humidity and temperature
sensor without the requirement of any hardware or
software design work.
Set-Up of EK-H5 (Order No. 1-100738-02)
Figure 1 Schematic of Evaluation Kit EK-H5.
Material Contents
1 EK-H5 USB Stick: Contains USB to I2C translator
capabilities.
1 Sensor cable of 1m length with a plug for
connecting the USB dongle with a combo connector
for connecting a sensor on PCB or FPCB.
1 SHT31-DIS sensor: mounted on PCB.
1 SHT31-DIS sensor: mounted on FPCB.
1 SHT21 sensor: mounted on PCB.
Set-Up of EK-H5 1.8V (Order No. 1-101021-03)
Figure 2 Schematic of Evaluation Kit EK-H5 1.8V.
Material Contents
1 EK-H5 USB Stick: Contains USB to I2C translator
capabilities.
1 Sensor cable of 1m length with a plug for
connecting with USB dongle and a ZIF connector for
connecting with a sensor on FPCB. Please note that a
level shifter board is integrated into the cable. This
level shifter converts the 3.3V on the USB dongle side
to 1.8V on the sensor side.
1 SHTC1 sensor: mounted on FPCB.
1 SHTW2 sensor: mounted on FPCB.
1 STSC1 sensor: mounted on FPCB.
Please note that 1.8V sensors must be operated with the
cable supplied in the EK-H5 1.8V which contains the level
shifter that converts the voltage level of 3.3 V on the USB
dongle side to 1.8V on the sensor side. Using the wrong
supply can damage the sensor.
Datasheet Evaluation Kit EK-H5
www.sensirion.com August 2016 – Version 5 2/5
EK-H5 Pin Assignment
Sensor Pin
Name
Description
1
SCL
Serial clock
2
VDD
Supply voltage
3
VSS
Ground
4
SDA
Serial data
Table 1 Pin Assignments: SHTxx on PCB, SHT71 and
SHTxx on FPCB sensors.
Viewer Software
The appearance of the viewer software is slightly different
for the different sensor types. The main difference is that
the viewer software for the SHT3x includes additional
features (Alert mode, Heater and ART), which are not
available in the other sensor types.
The viewer software displays relative humidity and
temperature data on two different windows. It allows for
setting absolute or relative timing and change the
displaying between °C and °F. The data may be logged,
stored and exported to a CSV file, which can be imported
to Microsoft Excel.
Figure 3 Viewer Software window for the SHT3x
The viewer Software must be downloaded from the
Sensirion web page:
http://www.sensirion.com/usb-viewer/
Please note that the USB stick, sensor cable and sensor
must be connected to the computer before starting the
software. No further software driver or any other hardware
is required for running EK-H5.
When starting the viewer software, the type of sensor must
be selected in a first window (several sensors are given for
choice). The settings (explained below) must be chosen
and then the measurement may be started.
Features
Sampling Time [s]: Defines the number of measurements
per second. For the SHT2x, SHT1x/SHT7x and SHTC1
sensor series the measurement intervals are free of choice
in the range from 1 … 1440s.
The SHT3x is operated in periodic-mode: the value in this
field is rounded to the nearest periodic acquisition
frequency as shown in the datasheet. After clicking the
RUN button a single initial command is send to the sensor.
After this the viewer software only reads out the measured
values from the sensor. When the STOP button is clicked,
the sensor stops to measure and is switched to idle mode.
Resolution: Allows changing the resolution for SHT2x and
SHT1x/SHT7x for RH & T. The sensor SHTC1 and SHT3x
always measure with the highest repeatability (longest
measurement time).
Heater: This checkbox is only available for the SHT3x
series and switches the built-in heater on/off (ticked/not-
ticked). Since the heater power is dependent on the supply
voltage, higher temperatures are achievable with larger
VDD, and vice versa. Please note the supply voltage of the
EK-H5 cannot be changed, it is fixed to 3.3 V.
ART ON: The SHT3x’s unique Accelerated Response
Time (ART) functionality is controlled through this box.
This feature electronically speeds up the humidity
response of the sensor. This feature only works in periodic
mode at 4 Hz and for high-resolution measurements. For
this reason the sampling time is set to a predefined value
of 0.1 s. Changing the sampling time in this mode only
affects the time when the viewer reads out values from the
sensor, but it does not affect the acquisition frequency of
the sensor itself.
1 2 3 4
2 1 3 4
1 2 3 4
Datasheet Evaluation Kit EK-H5
www.sensirion.com August 2016 – Version 5 3/5
Config. Alert Limits: This button is used to set the “Alert
limits”, which are reference thresholds for the ALERT
signal, available when the SHT3x is operated in periodic
data acquisition mode. The ALERT signal allows
monitoring the environmental conditions (humidity and
temperature) relative to these programmable limits.
The function of the alert feature is explained in a separate
App Note, which is available from Sensirion’s Download
Center.
Please note that the sensor handles the limit information in
a reduced data format (see App Note). The standard data
format of SHT3x-DIS has a width of 16 bits. For the limits
only the most significant bits (MSB) are used to determine
whether an alert has been met (7 bits for humidity and 9
bits for temperature). When the user inserts a limit, the
EK-H5 software automatically converts the inserted value
to the closest value matching this data format and displays
it.
When limit values are reached, the SHT3x will change the
value of the dedicated ALERT pin. Additionally, a status
register bit changes value. The “Humi. Alert” and “Temp.
Alert” cells on the main EK-H5 software screen indicate
the value of the respective status register bit (bit 11 for RH
and bit 10 for T). When the humidity and temperature
values are within the set limits (e.g. Alert OFF) the cells
are greyed-out. When the defined limit values are
exceeded (e.g. Alert ON) the cells turn red.
Configured limits can be changed during operation (after
the run button has been clicked) and are shown as red
dashed lines on the main EK-H5 software screen data
plots (see for example Figure 1).
Serial Number: The SHT2x, SHTC1 and SHT3x sensor
series provide a device specific serial number which can
be read-out via the serial interface (I2C). The Serial
number allows an unambiguous identification of each
individual device. It is automatically displayed on the main
EK-H5 software screen data plots in the Product Settings
section.
Datasheet Evaluation Kit EK-H5
www.sensirion.com August 2016 - Version 5 4/5
Revision History
Date
Version
Page(s)
Changes
January 2010
1.0
1 – 2
Initial release
August 2012
2.0
1
Changed hyperlink
February 2015
3.0
all
Modifications to include SHT3x as well the Evaluation Kit for SHTC1
21. July 2015
4
All
Combined EK-H5 and EK-H5 1.8V, added pin assignment
30. August 2016
5
1
Replaced SHTW1 with SHTW2
Important Notices
Warning, Personal Injury
Do not use this product as safety or emergency stop devices or in
any other application where failure of the product could result in
personal injury. Do not use this product for applications other than
its intended and authorized use. Before installing, handling, using
or servicing this product, please consult the data sheet and
application notes. Failure to comply with these instructions could
result in death or serious injury.
If the Buyer shall purchase or use SENSIRION products for any
unintended or unauthorized application, Buyer shall defend, indemnify
and hold harmless SENSIRION and its officers, employees,
subsidiaries, affiliates and distributors against all claims, costs,
damages and expenses, and reasonable attorney fees arising out of,
directly or indirectly, any claim of personal injury or death associated
with such unintended or unauthorized use, even if SENSIRION shall be
allegedly negligent with respect to the design or the manufacture of the
product.
ESD Precautions
The inherent design of this component causes it to be sensitive to
electrostatic discharge (ESD). To prevent ESD-induced damage and/or
degradation, take customary and statutory ESD precautions when
handling this product.
See application note “ESD, Latchup and EMC” for more information.
Warranty
SENSIRION warrants solely to the original purchaser of this product for
a period of 12 months (one year) from the date of delivery that this
product shall be of the quality, material and workmanship defined in
SENSIRION’s published specifications of the product. Within such
period, if proven to be defective, SENSIRION shall repair and/or replace
this product, in SENSIRION’s discretion, free of charge to the Buyer,
provided that:
notice in writing describing the defects shall be given to
SENSIRION within fourteen (14) days after their appearance;
such defects shall be found, to SENSIRION’s reasonable
satisfaction, to have arisen from SENSIRION’s faulty design,
material, or workmanship;
the defective product shall be returned to SENSIRION’s factory at
the Buyer’s expense; and
the warranty period for any repaired or replaced product shall be
limited to the unexpired portion of the original period.
This warranty does not apply to any equipment which has not been
installed and used within the specifications recommended by
SENSIRION for the intended and proper use of the equipment.
EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY SET FORTH
HEREIN, SENSIRION MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT. ANY AND ALL
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED AND DECLINED.
SENSIRION is only liable for defects of this product arising under the
conditions of operation provided for in the data sheet and proper use of
the goods. SENSIRION explicitly disclaims all warranties, express or
implied, for any period during which the goods are operated or stored
not in accordance with the technical specifications.
SENSIRION does not assume any liability arising out of any application
or use of any product or circuit and specifically disclaims any and all
liability, including without limitation consequential or incidental
damages. All operating parameters, including without limitation
recommended parameters, must be validated for each customer’s
applications by customer’s technical experts. Recommended
parameters can and do vary in different applications.
SENSIRION reserves the right, without further notice, (i) to change the
product specifications and/or the information in this document and (ii) to
improve reliability, functions and design of this product.
© Copyright 2016 by SENSIRION.
CMOSens® is a trademark of SENSIRION
All rights reserved
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Phone: +41 44 306 40 00
Fax: +41 44 306 40 30
info@sensirion.com
www.sensirion.com
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Phone: +1 805 409 4900
info_us@sensirion.com
www.sensirion.com
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Phone: +82 31 345 0031 3
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Phone: +86 755 8252 1501
info@sensirion.com.cn
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Phone: +41 44 927 11 66
info@sensirion.com
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