Approved 240V Arduino Interface?

[Bob Milutinovic]

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my house
and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control 240V
house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete triac
controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains wiring,
I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my insurance
company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

--
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom

 

[McAvity]

On 12-Jan-15 8:54 PM, Bob Milutinovic wrote:

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my
house and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control
240V house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

Not sure if its a useful reply.....

Is there something like an X10 or similar interface already existing
that you could I/F to the arduino?

 

[news13]

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 23:54:56 +1100, Bob Milutinovic wrote:

> Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

cheap =/= certification.
cheap, try Silicon Chip projects and make sure you get the fix.

 

[Phil Allison]

Bob Milutinovic wrote:

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my house
and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control 240V
house lighting.

** Aside from regulatory issues - are they ANY remote control devices suitable for use with regular CFL and LED lamps?

Because of the internal SMPS, the vast majority of CFLs and LED lamps are "non-dimmable" and probably the only 100% guaranteed way to even turn them on and off is with a relay.

The basic( non PFC) kinds of SMPS employed draw current only at the peak voltage points in each half cycle, this does not suit triacs one bit.

I can think of ways to make a triac switch CFLs, but it means using continuous high frequency pulses or even DC drive to the gate.



..... Phil

 

[Andy Wood]

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my house
and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control 240V
house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete triac
controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains wiring,
I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my insurance
company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

What's wrong with remote controlled powerpoints like those Tevion ones you
mentioned some time back?

Those are not very expensive and RF modules to talk to them are dirt cheap
(I paid $1.38 for transmitter/receiver pairs about a year ago).

 

[Bob Milutinovic]

"news13" <newsthirteenspam-spam@woa.com.au> wrote in message
news:m927t6$ptl$6@dont-email.me...

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 23:54:56 +1100, Bob Milutinovic wrote:

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

cheap =/= certification.
cheap, try Silicon Chip projects and make sure you get the fix.

Not "cheap and nasty;" I was referring to the likelihood that there'd be a
number of approved/certified solutions, some of which would be gross
overkill and/or grossly overpriced, which I'd want to avoid.

--
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom

 

[Bob Milutinovic]

"Andy Wood" <woodag@trap.ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:OvydnevGqODQVinJnZ2dnUVZ8n2dnZ2d@westnet.com.au...

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my house
and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control 240V
house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

What's wrong with remote controlled powerpoints like those Tevion ones you
mentioned some time back?

Those are not very expensive and RF modules to talk to them are dirt cheap
(I paid $1.38 for transmitter/receiver pairs about a year ago).

Yep, I've had a look at a number of online articles detailing the discovery
and mimicking of the transmitter's codes.

I was hoping to have a hard-wired solution, but if that proves to be
inconvenient (read: ridiculously expensive), I'll have to go the wireless
route.

The other option is to go all-LED as there's no certification/approval
needed on the 12V side, but the major problem there is that the power
supply/ies will constantly be running, which is a horrendous waste.

--
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom

 

[Bob Milutinovic]

"McAvity" <slider123@ebul.com> wrote in message
news:2cCdnSHvVOPhTy7JnZ2dnUU7-amdnZ2d@westnet.com.au...

On 12-Jan-15 8:54 PM, Bob Milutinovic wrote:
Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my
house and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control
240V house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)



Not sure if its a useful reply.....

Is there something like an X10 or similar interface already existing that
you could I/F to the arduino?

Bunnings had an X10-style system a while back, but if memory serves me
right, they discontinued it - just as all previous importers of such systems
have done before them, probably because of lack of uptake. It would appear
that the Australian market isn't quite yet ready for 1970s technology :-/

--
Bob Milutinovic
Cognicom

 

[McAvity]

On 12-Jan-15 8:54 PM, Bob Milutinovic wrote:

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my
house and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control
240V house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

Just a thought - my old man has just had a bore installed. It has a box
on the wall that turns the single phase pump on/off via some low voltage
wiring that runs to the retic controller.

This may do the job. It should be certified and given that there will be
thousands of them out there they should be cheapish.

 

[Jasen Betts]

On 2015-01-12, Bob Milutinovic <cognicom@gmail.com> wrote:

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my house
and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control 240V
house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete triac
controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains wiring,
I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my insurance
company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

Look to mod the extra low voltage side of something off-the-shelf
"Clipsal C-bus" looks like a maybe, use stock switches and mod the
remote

--
umop apisdn

 

[Chris Jones]

On 12/01/2015 23:54, Bob Milutinovic wrote:

Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my
house and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control
240V house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)

If it is to become part of the building's permanent mains wiring then it
would have to be installed by an electrician, as other Australians are
not allowed to do this (unlike the residents of most countries).

At an electrical wholesaler you will find DIN-rail mounted relays or
contactors. You may then have to show the staff where you found them and
what they are called so they can look up the price, or you could order
them more cheaply from element14 yourself. Some of these have all of the
necessary approvals so an electrician could install them in a wall box
of some sort, and some of these contactors have 24VDC coils which are
separated from the contacts by reinforced insulation. If the electrician
correctly segregates the coil wiring from the mains wiring, then it may
be possible for the Extra-Low-Voltage coil wires to pass out of the
electrician's box into an area where you are permitted to work on it
without an electrician's licence. It would be worth reading AS3000 to
check if they explicitly mention this though probably it will say
something vague and open to interpretation, or refer you to a more
expensive standard. Just make sure your wiring does not convey any
useful information or else you will need a different licence from ACMA
or Austel or whatever they are called this time.

If you were in the UK then you could get some of those bathroom light
switches that are operated by pulling a string, and rig up some servo
motors to pull the strings. I think Australians are still allowed
string, for the time being. Sadly I doubt you can find string operated
switches here so they have that one covered too.

 

[F Murtz]

Chris Jones wrote:

On 12/01/2015 23:54, Bob Milutinovic wrote:
Thinking about doing a shake-up of the wiring of at least part of my
house and was wondering if anyone could provide any pointers to a
standards-approved/certified interface to allow an Arduino to control
240V house lighting.

There are of course a cornucopia (and a half) of solutions available,
ranging from electromagnetic relays to solid state relays to discrete
triac controllers - but being that it's going to become permanent mains
wiring, I'd prefer to have something which is properly approved (lest my
insurance company decide I'm not covered in the event of misfortune).

Oh, and as I'm a stingy bastard, something as cheap as possible ;-)


If it is to become part of the building's permanent mains wiring then it
would have to be installed by an electrician, as other Australians are
not allowed to do this (unlike the residents of most countries).

At an electrical wholesaler you will find DIN-rail mounted relays or
contactors. You may then have to show the staff where you found them and
what they are called so they can look up the price, or you could order
them more cheaply from element14 yourself. Some of these have all of the
necessary approvals so an electrician could install them in a wall box
of some sort, and some of these contactors have 24VDC coils which are
separated from the contacts by reinforced insulation. If the electrician
correctly segregates the coil wiring from the mains wiring, then it may
be possible for the Extra-Low-Voltage coil wires to pass out of the
electrician's box into an area where you are permitted to work on it
without an electrician's licence. It would be worth reading AS3000 to
check if they explicitly mention this though probably it will say
something vague and open to interpretation, or refer you to a more
expensive standard. Just make sure your wiring does not convey any
useful information or else you will need a different licence from ACMA
or Austel or whatever they are called this time.

If you were in the UK then you could get some of those bathroom light
switches that are operated by pulling a string, and rig up some servo
motors to pull the strings. I think Australians are still allowed
string, for the time being. Sadly I doubt you can find string operated
switches here so they have that one covered too.

You can still get the outmoded string operated ones in Australia but
they are not used as prolifically as in the countries still in the dark
ages.

 

[pedro]

On Fri, 16 Jan 2015 10:30:05 +1100, F Murtz <haggisz@hotmail.com>
wrote:

You can still get the outmoded string operated ones in Australia but
they are not used as prolifically as in the countries still in the dark
ages.

Don't knock them. They have their place. I have one ceiling mounted
pull-cord-switch (Clipsal) controlling the fluoros over a wide
workbench where a wall-mounted switch would be difficult to reach over
workpieces.

 

[F Murtz]

pedro wrote:

On Fri, 16 Jan 2015 10:30:05 +1100, F Murtz <haggisz@hotmail.com
wrote:

You can still get the outmoded string operated ones in Australia but
they are not used as prolifically as in the countries still in the dark
ages.

Don't knock them. They have their place. I have one ceiling mounted
pull-cord-switch (Clipsal) controlling the fluoros over a wide
workbench where a wall-mounted switch would be difficult to reach over
workpieces.

Just having a dig at pommes.