Pi + BME280 Sensor Implementation and Library Questions

Question

I've been working on a Refrigerator Environment Monitor using a Raspberry Pi 3 + Adafruit BME280 Sensor.

I need to use Windows IoT Core +IoT Hubs and thus I am using a Universal Windows Application and C# for the software.

Setup:

Raspberry pi + case + extended solderless wires to breadboard + sensor on breadboard using i2c wiring.

Issue #1

So I took this device and tried to install on clients fridge, and the minute I stuck the breadboard in the fridge I lost connection to the sensor and stopped getting readings. It did work prior to being in the fridge, as I received messages up to the cloud, but at some point during the implementation something got damaged. I was hoping it wasn't the Pi.

Thoughts

The pi or sensor or breadboard may have had a grounding issue, static electricity.

**Troubleshooting*

Took it home and it would not read I kept getting a SystemIOException with a:

WinRT: Slave Address Not Found

error when deploying the code to the pi. Which was odd because it previously worked for months without issue.

Discovery

I did get the sensor to work once by Pulling up on SDO with i2c connection and existing 5v jumper wire. However, the temperature reading was now 250 degrees instead of it's usual 70 degrees or so in my office. Therefore I determined the sensor was bust.

Adafruit is currently out of stock on these sensors, but I found one on Sparkfun - The Sparkfun BME280 - that does the same thing, that has the same name and functionality...so

SparkFun BME280

My questions are:

Can I use the Adafruit library in C# on this new sensor plug and play? Or do I need to use whatever Arduino Library they recommend on the Sparkfun website?

New Setup: Plastic Tray for base + Raspberry pi + case + wires to breadboard + resistor? + extended wires directly to sensor in plastic case using i2c wiring.

Is there anything else I can do to prevent accidental grounding/ESD damage to sensor? I have to leave it on-site, so it will be remote (2 hrs away), I want it to be robust enough to not get damaged while i'm gone. Only needs to survive for a week or so

Answer 1

Turns out, yes. The BME280 libraries are interchangeable across sensor vendors.

Also turns out the sensor was faulted and the new sensor saved the day, whew.

New setup worked flawlessly. I did have to solder the wires to the sensor directly, so I popped it in a plastic case and used double-sided tape to mount it to the fridge. Sensor was stuck between two pieces of foam in the plastic case, did not impact the temperature readings at all.

To prevent any accidental discharges onto the pi, I mounted it to the top of the fridge, away from the compressor and the floor. Seemed to work fine.