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Victor
Junior Member
United Kingdom
409 Posts |
 Posted - 20/07/2008 : 01:03:59
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I know a lot fo you guys and girls are now making your free power,but I wanted to know if anyone has came up with a small Mechatronic system where all your lights come on at dusk and dawn?
Do you have any timers set on your lighting system to pwer lights around your house?
Do you use timers to set lights to come on and off in a low votage system.
I`d like to make a mechatronic system to power lights to come on and off at certain times or even have them on a small timer etc.....
I was thinking along the lines of using a light dependant resistor that would saturate a transistor to switch the lights on when it gets dark and also maybe have a realy to power more lighting up to 50watts....
just and Idea!
would be nice to see ideas for running a lighting system that we don`t need to worry about as it`s automatic....
Maybe this would be a great project in the future?
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Victor
Junior Member
United Kingdom
409 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 01:07:50
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Basically a lighting system for a garden that works independantly! you never need to go near it to switch it on or off!! And has more power than the rubbish LED systems you see kicking around at big prices.....
I think even 10 watt halogen bulbs in a 12 volt system would be an excellent idea if you can harvest enough power from your turbine or solar panels///////
What do you think folks??
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Victor
Junior Member
United Kingdom
409 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 01:11:20
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Even a system powered by a PIR detector to light up a dark path in your garden etc would be a good idea....And then switch off 2-3 mins later........Of course this would have to work totally 12 volts and not have anything to do with mains power from your house......
just some ideas anyway for this weekend for you guys to think about...... Maybe a good idea for a project at gotwind maybe? Who knows!! I`m away to bed now lol :-) |
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gholt
Junior Member
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 04:46:54
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Hello Victor,
Light sensing relay switch systems are fairly common. Here's a link to a commercially available set of three such systems ...
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/elec/ck1602.htm
Yes, I think there are many applications for this type of idea.
G. |
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optixelectrics
New Member
United Kingdom
72 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 07:51:39
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most of the PIR and dusk til dawn sensors that you mention are 12 volt sensors, even though they are used in 230V applications. They tend to use a large resistor to drop the voltage to the sensors, then use a triac or relay to switch the output for the lights. It doesnt take much to remove the 230V element of the product.
Myk |
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gholt
Junior Member
USA
104 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 15:33:16
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Hello Myk, Victor,
Here's the basic schematic ...
(courtesy of electronickits.com pdf ck1602)
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/elec/ck1602.pdf
Most of us have no clue when it comes to making the electronic design adjustments you're referring to (especially me).
G. |
Edited by - gholt on 20/07/2008 15:36:03 |
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pintail
Starting Member
United Kingdom
37 Posts |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
931 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 17:35:57
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Yes,
They are pretty good those velleman (German I think) kits as sold by maplin.
Ben. |
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optixelectrics
New Member
United Kingdom
72 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 18:42:29
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That's a neat little circuit. They use the DPDT switch to toggle between light on = relay active or light off = relay active. You could rig this for 24v by adding a LM7812 (or MC7812) voltage reg (from www.RSWWW for about 60p).
Myk |
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pintail
Starting Member
United Kingdom
37 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 19:17:40
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Hi. optixelectrics ref. voltage reg get one from maplins not all of us have account with rs. yes ben the velleman kits are german, I have made some of they kits up before & they are quiet good, it is easyer to buy something like that than it is to design the circuit,then make the pcb etc, I do make some stuff up by coppying circuits off the net or out of books etc & then redesign it to suit my needs but like i said sometimes it is easyer & cheaper to buy a kit. books can be got from maplins R A Penfold does a range of books with easy to follow projects whitch can be altered to suit your needs, I have quit a few of them would be lost with out them.
Pintail |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
931 Posts |
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Victor
Junior Member
United Kingdom
409 Posts |
Posted - 20/07/2008 : 23:59:33
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Hi Everyone,
This post has seen some excellent replies. All of which I have found exciting and informative. One thing I have learned is that sometimes it is hard to make a small power supply go over the 1 amp level. 7812`s 7912`s are excellentr for what they are but it would be great to see an off the shelf Voltage regulator that can go up to 5 amp. It seems a bit difficult to master the 2n3055 and setting that up. If think it`s peak is 14 amp in total......
Anyway to cut a long story short I`d love to make a circuit to regulate the voltage and give decent current outputs so that we could switch on a pile of lights around the garden using our free power. PIR comes to mind and then the lights all light up in the garden and switch off again......Or even dusk to dawn lighting system......
I think i`ll go for the PIR lights ,but would like to switch a pile of little 10-20 watt Halogens on and off......These are better at lighting the paths around my house than LED lights..
I have noticed many people in my street stop using their outside lights in Scotland now as they know their power electricity bills will rise soon.......
I am going to aim for free lighting around my house that will swiitch on and then off after a period as I empty my trash bin and walk around my garden towards my Garden Hut......
For now I`m using free lighting in the house to good effect in the livingroom.... the garden is the next project.
Talking about projects here is a rare Maplin Kit I made many moons ago...... Maplin also had a Magazine and other things going in the 90`s. I started making the kit in 1994,but I finished it a lot later on..... Most of the parts I got a lot cheaper on Ebay....A godsend!
Anyway for now I`m going to try and build a few lighting systems around the house that will work when I walk around and will go off 60 secs later.....This will save my valuable energy...
The tube light in my house at 40 watts 12 volt is a godsend!! And that alone has been the help for the guys and girls on the forum....
Looks like I may invest on a second hand uv box and etch tank soon....
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pintail
Starting Member
United Kingdom
37 Posts |
Posted - 21/07/2008 : 01:02:13
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Hi victor you could try the L200 regulator good for 2A but can give higher output with one or more trasistors, I made a adjustable power supply 0-20v 0-5A using a Lm 1723 & one transister but the Lm 1723 could be hard to find now, as for a uv light box I use uv from the sun its cheaper.
Pintail |
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Capt Slog
Junior Member
United Kingdom
108 Posts |
Posted - 21/07/2008 : 09:35:39
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I use a simple LDR circuit to switch on the light outside my front door. There is very little load on this, it's just an MR16 LED reflector type lamp in a standard downlight fitting, and uses about 1w. Low enoughfor the BFY51 transistor to be able to get rid of, but wouldn't be upto a string of 12w lamps as mentioned. It's on a 12v regulated circuit that's running through part of the house.
I like the look of the circuit posted above, I'll be building one of those. |
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optixelectrics
New Member
United Kingdom
72 Posts |
Posted - 21/07/2008 : 15:48:32
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If you need more current, then just parallel more voltage regs. If transistors dont cut it, then go for a FET instead. The stuff I use is good for 80 amps, and comes in a small To220 package (same as the LM7805/12 regulators). The biggest problem with them is trying to get the 6-10mm cabling connected to handle 60+ amps. They are voltage driven, so a PIR would run plenty of these.
Myk |
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Topic |
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Alternative Energy Mechatronic Systems.
