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[on:]

Hi All

I am new to electronics and arduino and to this forum as well.

Sorry if i am posting in the wrong category.

I have a SOLAR pv setup in my house and I am trying to switch off/on my inverter's grid input based on the time and /pv voltage calculations via the Arduino.

Thats a long story why I need to do this with the inverter ., I plan to use the same Arduino to monitor the battery as well as incoming solar power,etc in near future.


I am currently using 1 AC-DC power adapter 12V/2A for powering my arduino ., and then another 12V 500mV power adapter for energizing the relay coil, .

This is a 15A/230V relay that i purchased locally and does not really have any datasheets so I dont know whats the minimum current required to energize this coil.

Should I keep running it with 2 seperate power adapters or can i use the same adapter to power both the arduino and this relay?


Sorry if this question is dumb, I just wanted to be careful..

[Reply #1 on:]

I had to look at some data for a similarly rated relay recently. Now this might not be gospel, but 70mA to energize the relay I had to replace was more than sufficient.
So to answer your question, just using the Arduino related wallwart would be enough.
You say you're new to electronics, so I hope you understand that the switching terminals on the relay need to be wired in the correct sense that when no power is applied to the relay, the grid input is switched off too.

UPDATE:
forgot to mention that you should add some decoupling to the relay coil to reduce switching spikes

[Reply #2 on:]

Measure the resistance of the relay coil with a multimeter, then use Ohms Law to calculate the current it takes in the steady state @ 12V. The initial current when the relay turns on may be a little higher because of the movement of the relay armature.

You should be able to use a single power supply for both the relay and the Arduino.

[Reply #3 on:]

I had to look at some data for a similarly rated relay recently. Now this might not be gospel, but 70mA to energize the relay I had to replace was more than sufficient.
So to answer your question, just using the Arduino related wallwart would be enough.
You say you're new to electronics, so I hope you understand that the switching terminals on the relay need to be wired in the correct sense that when no power is applied to the relay, the grid input is switched off too.

UPDATE:
forgot to mention that you should add some decoupling to the relay coil to reduce switching spikes

Hi , Thanks for the reply.

I believe I need the relay to have the grid input working even when there is no power to relay, this way if my arudino fails I can keep the grid input working.

Also helps me to override the arduino incase something goes wrong because I do have a seperate  manual switch before the line goes to relay, just in case.


Im switching off the grid input just to disable the Inverter's charging function during the day and it should use the Grid when there is no -sun. I do not want to drain my batteries unless required.

This is more of an UPS than an inverter.

Let me know if im wrong here.



I have only added a Diode to the relay coil and is this enough?

[Reply #4 on:]

Measure the resistance of the relay coil with a multimeter, then use Ohms Law to calculate the current it takes in the steady state @ 12V. The initial current when the relay turns on may be a little higher because of the movement of the relay armature.

You should be able to use a single power supply for both the relay and the Arduino.

Tried this, it works , so far so good.

Thanks

[Reply #5 on:]

I believe I need the relay to have the grid input working even when there is no power to relay, this way if my arudino fails I can keep the grid input working.
I understand what you're doing here. Most grid converters are intelligent anyway. I forgot about that.
Also helps me to override the arduino incase something goes wrong because I do have a seperate  manual switch before the line goes to relay, just in case.
  Yep, good.
Im switching off the grid input just to disable the Inverter's charging function during the day and it should use the Grid when there is no -sun. I do not want to drain my batteries unless required.
This is more of an UPS than an inverter.
Let me know if im wrong here.
  Nothing wrong about the above.
I have only added a Diode to the relay coil and is this enough?
  Yep, does the job.  Sounds like you've researched this well