Arduino 7: Switching a Heavy Load Using MOSFET and PV Sensor

Here I continue to demonstrate the versatility of the simple Arduino pot-voltmeter system. NOTE: I get scrambled when I describe the mosfet pin hookup. The Load has no connection to the mosfet gate, it is switched by the mosfet drain-source channel. I get it straight eventually, so I hope nobody is too confused. The sketch code has a better description of the wiring. Still using the simple photovoltaic cell as the sensor, I wired up a IRF530n mosfet to act as a control switch for a bright 12 volt incandescent bulb. Clearly, any load that could be switched by a mosfet or bipolar transistor can be controlled in this way, and it is a trivial matter to assign the mosfet on-off points to different LED levels. Do you want the mosfet ON only when LEDs 4,5 and 6 are lit (corresponding to a mid-range of the sensor output voltages)? Easy to do with a line of code. Keep mosfet on as temperature rises (use thermistor sketch) then turn it off at a preset temperature? Easy. Turn on or off security lighting or alarm systems based on daylight/darkness? Piece of cake. Sous vide cooking temperature control? Plug it right into your ordinary crockpot, use a solid state relay to switch the AC line on and off, put your thermistor right inside the meat, if you like. Calibrate to a known standard and you are on your way to healthy and tasty culinary excellence, Arduino style. Please download the sketch from the previous video and be brave! Insert the needed “if/else” statement to turn on and off

You may also like...