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[on:]

Hi,
I'm looking for the easiest (i.e. smallest) way of sensing whether mains power is on or off with an Arduino input pin.

My first thought was to use a circuit that drives a LED from 240V mains power and substitute the LED with an opto-coupler (a 4N25 for example).
There are some circuit diagrams on this page: http://www.marcspages.co.uk/tech/6103.htm

My worry with that is that the LED would "blink" at the mains 50Hz. This is not a problem with a visual-only LED indicator but will give false readings when read at intervals with the Arduino. I could add another capacitor parallel to the LED as shown in the diagram for the blinking LED on the website above. But I was wondering if there are any simpler and smaller ways of doing this?

The idea is to replace a ceiling lamp with an Arduino controlled LED lamp and to use the existing cabling and wall switch. There is a 3 core cable going to the ceiling lamp, so I could have permanent mains plus switched mains from the wall switch.

[Reply #1 on:]

Add the capacitor not across the LED but across the arduino input pin. In other words on the transistor side of the opto isolator.

[Reply #2 on:]

How will your Arduino be powered, can you use that somehow ?

The 470nF capacitor seems large to me. If the optocoupler is good with 10mA, use 150nF.
A capacitor over led/optocoupler is no problem. But it is saver on the low-voltage side.
However without the extra capacitor, the led/optocoupler is at 100/120Hz, and that is not hard to detect with the Arduino. Say with about 500Hz sampling rate in a timer interrupt.

[Reply #3 on:]

A capacitor over led/optocoupler is no problem.

Except for the voltage rating it has to be.

[Reply #4 on:]

The arduino will be powered from the permanent mains (it has to be always on) via a small 5V PSU (one of those USB chargers). The arduino will control the lamp / LED and will be hidden in the ceiling rose or similar. It will be sent commands via a RF module. The idea is that the light switch on the wall can also be used to switch the lamp on and off so that "she" does not notice the difference but I can still control the lamp remotely.. ;-)

[Reply #5 on:]

I quickly made a schematic diagram of what I had in mind. Does this look OK?

[Reply #6 on:]

Oh, and these caps should be ok?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160816947443&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

[Reply #7 on:]

you can use an AC 230V (or 110V) microrelay to send a DC signal to your arduino. Simple!

[Reply #8 on:]

Does this look OK?

Looks fine, appart from the fact I would also have a resistor in line with the LED. The only thing limiting the current is te 470R and the 0.15uF cap, I am not sure if that will pass too much current.

[Reply #9 on:]

Capacitor should have class X dielectric implying ti is suitable for use as a mains "dropper"

[Reply #10 on:]

Does this look OK?

Looks fine, appart from the fact I would also have a resistor in line with the LED. The only thing limiting the current is te 470R and the 0.15uF cap, I am not sure if that will pass too much current.

How would you calculate the value for that resistor?

[Reply #11 on:]

you can use an AC 230V (or 110V) microrelay to send a DC signal to your arduino. Simple!

Not a bad idea. But I can't find one that is smaller than the LED circuit....

[Reply #12 on:]

A capacitor over led/optocoupler is no problem.

Except for the voltage rating it has to be.

The "flashing LED" circuit on the web page I linked to uses a 47uF 10V capacitor. Do you think the capacitor should be rated as high as the "mains dropper" capacitor?

[Reply #13 on:]

No 10V is fine because the Zener and the LED means it dosn't get more than 10V across it.

[Reply #14 on:]

There are 2 better Idea's I can come up with one (the simplest is a relay connected to the mains, 230V relays are common and cheap, the second and better one is an LDR and a neon light. About 10 years ago I designed a radio remote controller for a center pivot irrigation controller and I Tried several times to use Led's for 220 Vac sensing. After literally blowing SEVERAL OF THEM off of The board I tried to use wall warts to save the board design, I bit the bullet and shrink tubed a NE2 to an LDR snd Never had a problem again and the LDR NE2 combination was about $0.10 cheaper after the part price had been burdened by the assembly time my girls spent putting them together. If adequately being shielded from light totally I could measure a low on a pin 2 or 3 times in succession, I knew that the power was on at the point being monitored, didn't need filters, caps or special software just a completely light shielded LDR and 2 or 3 low measurements were more than enough... that and a .1 uF cap for the occasional transient. I didn't write the code for that job but it was written to my specifications and the "engineer" doing the code had no problems measuring the pin. Just a thought...

Doc