Some advice please?

Question

I’m a challenger for 1 Meter of Pi, I’ve been designing a lightning system for the plants, however, I realize that the LEDs would require 5A total of current, so I split them into 5 parts, for 1A per section. This still is too much for an arduino pin to handle- at most they can handle one or two, while each had 5.

I’ve considered using multiple pins and boards but my friend says that would likely overload the regulators and fry the chip, or damage.

He said using buck converters, and MOSFETs, would be an ideal solution.

can someone please eleaborate on this part, like a bit of conceptual explanation, and/or other ideas? Thanks!

gam3t3ch · Answer

I would need to know more about the lights setup to give you my opinion but off the top of my head using a simple relay would allow you to do that then you can use the appropriate power output and use the arduino for switching the relay.

milosrasic98 · Answer

Hi! You can either use a relay to turn on/off the lights, which will work good, or you can go the route of using MOSFETs where you can also control how bright the LEDs are using PWM. Here is a project I did where I've done that using MOSFETS Ski Lamp . I've used 3 MOSFETs because the LED strip was RGB, so I was controlling each of the channels, one would be sufficient if you're using a single color LED. If you plan on doing that just make sure in the datasheet what are the voltages that can turn on the MOSFET so you don't need a comparator before it like me, as well as the max current, though, the second one shouldn't be an issue. Hope this helps! Milos

colporteur · Answer

A buck (reduce)/boost (increase) board enables you to move the output voltage up or down in relation to the input. I use them extensively in my personal projects. I have base 12VDC power supply that is used to power strings of LED's. I then use a buck/boost board to produce 5VDC and 3VDC for the digital electronics. I have had good success with LM2596 DC-DC Adjustable Step Down Power Supply Module from banggood.com. They are inexpensive if bought in quantity and have yet to replace any from burning them out. Trust me I have done some not to smart stuff! I tend to not use relays if I need to control a load. Solid state devices vs mechanical devices are less problematic. I switch 12 VDC LED strings with an IRFZ44 FET.

parasquid · Answer

A relay is like a switch that you can trigger with a signal.

You would usually have two connections: Normally Closed or Normally Open. When you send a signal via the Arduino for example, the relay would "switch" to the reverse. For example, if you connect your external circuit to the Normally Open terminals, that circuit would be "open" (no electricity flowing) until you trigger the relay, which would then close the circuit and allow electricity to flow.

A relay is great when you want to isolate sensitive equipment (like your Arduino) from a circuit that is either high current (like the LEDs you have) or high voltage (like mains). The only downside with relays is that they are slow, so you can't do PWM on the LEDs to lower their brightness for example.

But for regular turn on/off scenarios, a relay is perfect and really simple to use.

feiticeir0 · Answer

I'm going with gam3t3ch - a simple relay would allow you to turn the lights on and off using just 3v or 5v - depending on the relay. The raspberry pi (or an arduino) would never touch the mains voltage.

Some advice please?

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