Hi, I'm trying to understand something about how to make a Christmas light show using Arduino Uno and a relay board. I heard that mechanical relay board may be not appropriate for this job due to high frequency in changing state of the relay. Someone suggests solid state relays. I have found this Solid State Relay Board but I don't understand
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if it's feasible then to connect standard Christmas lights (also non-LED) due to their voltage/current needed. Please answer as you would answer at a children, I'm not an expert!
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if the relay board can be connected directly to Arduino without external supply.
a relay is like an isolator.
it has a power section and a logic section.
the logic section does not use much power and is often controlled by the output pin of the Arduino.
the power section MUST have it's own power source and is separate and isolated.
An SSR POWER SECTION, is often ONLY for AC and will not switch with DC. or is ONLY for DC and will not switch AC.
you can take power from your wall, the hot leg. and connect it to one side of lights.
the second leg of the lights goes to the SSR pin
the other SSR pin goes to the wall power, as neutral.
the only time power can pass is when the circuit is complete. the relay will open the circuit or complete the circuit.
the SSR does require a minimum current, but your lights should be more than enough.
it looks like the SSR consumes 2Ma per channel so you are well under the power limit for the UNO (or NANO) as it shows.
enrico27:
Hi, I'm trying to understand something about how to make a Christmas light show using Arduino Uno and a relay board. I heard that mechanical relay board may be not appropriate for this job due to high frequency in changing state of the relay. Someone suggests solid state relays. I have found this Solid State Relay Board but I don't understand
-
if it's feasible then to connect standard Christmas lights (also non-LED) due to their voltage/current needed. Please answer as you would answer at a children, I'm not an expert!
-
if the relay board can be connected directly to Arduino without external supply.
A mechanical relay can be used. they do physically move inside and you can hear the click.
for one Christmas season, you should be able to use the mechanical relays. they might last many seasons.
it may be cheaper to use them to start and if/when they fail decide if you want to move to an SSR.
the SSR relay link you posted does not show the data sheet, but there is a note
" OPEN PORT AC240V/2A " at the bottom of page 1
this might mean that the relay is rated up to 240VAC and up to 2A.
dave-in-nj:
A mechanical relay can be used. they do physically move inside and you can hear the click.
for one Christmas season, you should be able to use the mechanical relays. they might last many seasons.
it may be cheaper to use them to start and if/when they fail decide if you want to move to an SSR.
the SSR relay link you posted does not show the data sheet, but there is a note
" OPEN PORT AC240V/2A " at the bottom of page 1
this might mean that the relay is rated up to 240VAC and up to 2A.
Thank you! What I still don't understand is if I connect my lights to the Power side, since I have the output 240v 2A, can I work in Italy when we use 230V and can I connect everything or I have limits in what I connect? Since the price in Italy is 16€ for solid state and 10€ for mechanical, I prefer to buy directly something that will not last only 3 days
enrico27:
Thank you! What I still don't understand is if I connect my lights to the Power side, since I have the output 240v 2A, can I work in Italy when we use 230V and can I connect everything or I have limits in what I connect? Since the price in Italy is 16€ for solid state and 10€ for mechanical, I prefer to buy directly something that will not last only 3 days
I do not know the amps that the lights draw. if you do not exceed 2 amps, you should be fine.
I would check the data sheet. in some cases, 220V 230V and 240V are just listed to show, not 120V and not 480V
in the US, we say 120, but sometimes it is written 110, sometimes 115....
The mechanical relays may last thousands of cycles. maybe 100's of thousands of cycles.
look at your lights, if you run them all day and night in a display for a store, then get the SSR.
if you want to light your house from dark to midnight, and you blink them 4 times a minute, for 8 hours a day, that is close to 100,000 cycles in a season for 60 days.
I would verify the voltage of the SSR to make sure [ one data sheet says 264 ]
I would verify the amps of the lights to make sure
if the relay board is using the Omron 1516e [ need to verify with the supplier ]
keyestudio link
the DataSheet lists
The load rated range as 75vac to 264 vac.
to me that means it is rated for a nominal 230/240VAC that we get from the power company.
so, that is what you would want.