Hello all,
I'm looking for a way to monitor the voltage of a battery that is connected to a hydro turbine and send the results to a local network website.
I can do the website and coding part but have no idea on how and what I do need in terms of electronics to set this up.
Does anyone have an idea?
Thanks
I'd have a look at the Nanode - its the sort of setup needed, an Arduino-a-like and
ethernet controller used to monitor power.
http://www.nanode.eu/
An Arduino and an ethernet shield can do the same thing.
What is the maximum output voltage of the hydroturbine?
But I'm only planning on checking the battery voltage, so it's a range from 10v to 14v...
You might use ~13 diodes in series (.7v drop each) to reduce the battery voltage to a point where it can be input to an arduino analog input pin. There are a number of ways to display the arduino analog pin values in a web page.
I recommend use of a voltage divider to measure the battery voltage, as this will be easier to calibrate than when using diodes. Here is a tutorial: Trossen Robotics Community Database Error
Adjustable voltage dividers.
zoomkat:
You might use ~13 diodes in series (.7v drop each) to reduce the battery voltage to a point where it can be input to an arduino analog input pin. There are a number of ways to display the arduino analog pin values in a web page.
But that doesn't actually work because an input pin draws no current until the
protection diode starts coducting at 5.4V or so. Diodes only have a roughly
constant voltage drop when there is a definite constant current flowing, but
its temperature sensitive so you'd need a temp-sensor too.
Voltage divider is simple, reliable, drift-free, cheaper.
Here is a complete Project, but it is in German: Netzwerkfähiges Voltmeter