Hello all,
I'm fairly new to Arduino and all of its many shields and accessories so forgive me if this is an easy question.
I'm working on a project where an Arduino is used to monitor certain aspects of a battery that is connected to a MPPT charge controller. Given the very limited power available, the Arduino seemed like a good choice.
The setup I have arrived at requires the Arduino to switch a relay when certain conditions are met. Unfortunately this condition is also the "prevailing" condition on a sunny day, and because I am using a mechanical relay this means a constant power drain from the relay (I was surprised at how much power these require!).
I would like to ask if there is a different type of relay which requires much less power when it is "switched on" than a mechanical relay? Ideally something that only requires power to switch on or off, not when it is actually switched to either state.
Does such a thing exist? What is my best option here? I need a relay that I can switch on (and keep switched on) with almost no power available to do so
Kind regards,
Michael