Hello everyone,
Ive just discovered the Arduino today and think it will solve my problem. I would love insight into my project and guidance.
Problem:
I need to monitor a heating furnace to see if the master trip error light comes on.
The furnace is turned on nightly and faults maybe 1 time a week.
Ideal solution:
A Arduino to monitor if the light comes on and to send a sms msg.
Parts i think i need:
Arduino
Arduino Ethernet Shield
power supply
and some rj45
is there anything iam missing.
Possible problems:
The light on the furnace possibly runs on ac. can the Arduino have ac as an input?
I have limited programming experience, but a quick learner, is this a feasible project for a noob?
A heating sensor perhaps - What ranges of temperature do you expect?
or a light sensor?
the code
if you want to SMS you might need some external server to do that for you.
The light on the furnace possibly runs on ac. can the Arduino have ac as an input?
I have limited programming experience, but a quick learner, is this a feasible project for a noob?
Yes
Yes definitely.
Please take some time to spend on the tutorial pages as much is explained there incl ethernet communication. Read and compile the examples found there so you get a feeling what can be done with an arduino and how to do it.
A heating sensor perhaps - What ranges of temperature do you expect?
or a light sensor?
the code
if you want to SMS you might need some external server to do that for you.
-In this case the temps dont matter, all that matters is if the fault light comes on, on the furnace.
-I was thinking of tapping into the wires that powre the light for my sensor input.
-are you aware of any present servers offering the sms service?
Yes
Yes definitely.
Please take some time to spend on the tutorial pages as much is explained there incl ethernet communication. Read and compile the examples found there so you get a feeling what can be done with an arduino and how to do it.
When the fault occurs, you have to do a manual reset on the circut breakers.
Could you use a sloenoid or servo to flick the circuit breaker switch to where you want it to be? servos are (probably) easy to control with the servo library (although I have never used it), and a solenoid is easy to use. Just check out the playground!
PaulS:
What do you have to do when the fault occurs? It might be easier to have the Arduino do THAT, instead of sending you a text message.
When the fault occurs, you have to do a manual reset on the circut breakers.
The furnace is programed to come on after the work day is over, since it heats the shop up to much.
First off - I would fix that problem; something is causing the breaker to trip - should the breaker fail, something else is going to burn up. Something isn't sized right here, and it may lead to a dangerous or "loss-of-money/materials" situation...
With that said - I would use a photosensor (LDR or phototransistor) to detect the lighting of the lamp; it might be a simpler and safer solution. Likely the voltage is 24 VAC - if you insisted on connecting directly, you would want to rectify the voltage, then use a voltage divider or other means to bring it down to the TTL 5VDC level needed. You could also use a step-down transformer, then rectify/smooth/regulate it to the TTL level needed. There's other methods/possibilities to interface how you want as well.
But I would seriously think about figuring out why your heater is tripping the breaker first, if you don't know already - and if you do know, fix that instead...
