Hi experts
I was working on an irrigation project which consist of solenoid valve and soil moisture sensor .now the issue I am facing here is that my solenoid and soil moisture sensor is far away from arduino controlling circuit. Which result in DC voltage loss due to long wiring. So is there any way I can avoid this DC voltage loss.?
Regards Saif
On the basis that all circuits must be DC, you can use a larger size of cable to minimise voltage loss.
Or,you convert the circuit to run at a higher voltage supply using a DC-DC booster (hence less current) and at the far end use a DC-DC converter to get the DC back down to what you want.
If you can use AC then again run at a higher voltage and transform down at the far end.
jackrae:
On the basis that all circuits must be DC, you can use a larger size of cable to minimise voltage loss.Or,you convert the circuit to run at a higher voltage supply using a DC-DC booster (hence less current) and at the far end use a DC-DC converter to get the DC back down to what you want.
If you can use AC then again run at a higher voltage and transform down at the far end.
I think larger gauge cable would be a good option. But u know it will be difficult to insert it in arduino female header
So solder a smaller wire to it and plug that in.
Anyway you should be using a pin header or a project not pushing wires into a socket.
Another option would be to use a higher voltage AC with a power converter/supply at the far end. Double the voltage = half the current AND the power supply/regulator would help with the load. Just be careful working with the higher voltages - that is a large ground you are wandering around on out there. You are running into the chief issue why Edison's DC power never worked out and cities are wired with AC these days - much easier to move power at higher voltages then step them down at the end - saves LOTS of $$ in the cost of conductors.
This is a question that should be answered with numbers and absolutes. The most important thing to determine is "Is there a problem in the first place"
Let's start with the basics:
From those, you can calculate the thickness of wire needed. There are calculators for this online, I'm pretty sure...
So is there any way I can avoid this DC voltage loss.?
Wire has resistance. [u]Ohm's Law[/u] says when you have current through resistance you have a voltage drop.
Smaller wires (higher gauge) and/or longer wires have more resistance and therefore more voltage drop with a given current.
That's all physics and nature... You can't "avoid" the voltage drop, but you can minimize it (with fatter wire) or compensate for it.
Normally, wires runs are short-enough or the wires are thick-enough that the resistance is nearly zero and we can ignore it.
You can also get "excess" resistance where you have terminations/connections. So, double-check your connections.
Have you checked the voltage at both ends with the solenoid powered-up to make sure the wire is the problem? The actual power supply voltage may be dropping when the solenoid is switched-on.
You can simply increase the voltage to compensate for the drop. (If you have multiple solenoids at different distances, that may not be a good solution.)
Or you can use a (slightly) higher voltage at the controller-end and stick a voltage regulator at the solenoid-end. (With multiple solenoids, you'd need a regulator at each one.)
Or as gpsmikey suggests, you can move the power supply (and transformer, MOSFET, or relay, or whatever you are using) to the far-end near the solenoid.
But u know it will be difficult to insert it in arduino female header
Hopefully, you are not trying to run the solenoid directly from the Arduino... A small wire from the Arduino to your transistor/MOSFET/relay is OK. But if you can't avoid sending power through one of those header pins, a short bit of smaller wire might be OK as long as the wire is not too small, and as long as you get a good-solid connection between the skinny wire and the longer fat wire.
saifkazi:
Hi expertsI was working on an irrigation project which consist of solenoid valve and soil moisture sensor .now the issue I am facing here is that my solenoid and soil moisture sensor is far away from arduino controlling circuit. Which result in DC voltage loss due to long wiring. So is there any way I can avoid this DC voltage loss.?
Regards Saif
Can you not site the Arduino with the solenoid? Use 48V supply wiring and a DC-DC converter at the
receiving end and you'll get away with much thinner wires.
So lets have the details of your components and lengths of cables proposed, so we have some numbers....