The other day I had the following query regarding the Mains Switch Widget. "I am looking into a project involving my Raspberry Pi I wish to complete
which will allow me to automate the habitat of my Bearded Dragon's
vivarium including temperature control and lighting. I am in need of
some way to control the ON/OFF status of a few 240v devices which would
usually plug into a standard, UK power outlet." Well - below are a couple of ways of doing this.
Option for hobbyists not wanting to mess with electrics
Parts required
* 4 x Mains Switch Widgets (ready built)
* 4 x single way extension leads
* 1 x 4 way extension lead
* 6 way screw terminal strip
* Piece of wood to assemble all the parts
* Cable to connect up the 4 way mains controller to the Raspberry Pi GPIO, Arduino or any other control device.
The drawing below shows the complete set up. As all the electrics are housed within the Mains Swicth Widget (MSW) and extension leads, there is no danger of the user accidentally touching live parts. The MSWs are each fused at 5A, but the total load on the extension socket must not exceed 13A.
Option for those happy to solder and are competent with electrics
This option uses a plastic enclosure for the whole assembly and presents a lot tidier unit. Parts required are
* 4 Mains Switch Widgets (Kit of Parts or Ready Built)
* Suitable plastic enclosure
* Switched IEC socket
* 4 x panel mounting mains sockets (eg Rapid Electronics 23-0892)
* Plenty of 6A cable
* 6 way screw terminal strip
* Cable to connect up the 4 way mains controller to the Raspberry Pi GPIO, Arduino or any other control device.
The drawing below shows the set-up. The 4 inputs to the MSWs are all soldered to the incoming IEC socket. The outputs are taken to the panel mounting mains socket on the front panel. As there is exposed Live circuits it is important for the enclosure to have a lid that can be screwed down. When assembling the unit, please make sure that there is adequate seperation/insulation between the Live parts and low voltage parts (The control signals, 5V and 0V from the Raspberry Pi, Arduino or other controlling device).
Option for hobbyists not wanting to mess with electrics
Parts required
* 4 x Mains Switch Widgets (ready built)
* 4 x single way extension leads
* 1 x 4 way extension lead
* 6 way screw terminal strip
* Piece of wood to assemble all the parts
* Cable to connect up the 4 way mains controller to the Raspberry Pi GPIO, Arduino or any other control device.
The drawing below shows the complete set up. As all the electrics are housed within the Mains Swicth Widget (MSW) and extension leads, there is no danger of the user accidentally touching live parts. The MSWs are each fused at 5A, but the total load on the extension socket must not exceed 13A.
Option for those happy to solder and are competent with electrics
This option uses a plastic enclosure for the whole assembly and presents a lot tidier unit. Parts required are
* 4 Mains Switch Widgets (Kit of Parts or Ready Built)
* Suitable plastic enclosure
* Switched IEC socket
* 4 x panel mounting mains sockets (eg Rapid Electronics 23-0892)
* Plenty of 6A cable
* 6 way screw terminal strip
* Cable to connect up the 4 way mains controller to the Raspberry Pi GPIO, Arduino or any other control device.
The drawing below shows the set-up. The 4 inputs to the MSWs are all soldered to the incoming IEC socket. The outputs are taken to the panel mounting mains socket on the front panel. As there is exposed Live circuits it is important for the enclosure to have a lid that can be screwed down. When assembling the unit, please make sure that there is adequate seperation/insulation between the Live parts and low voltage parts (The control signals, 5V and 0V from the Raspberry Pi, Arduino or other controlling device).
Thank you to Phil Davies for the enquiry that initiated this post. If anyone does go on to build a multu-way mains control unit using the Mains Switch Widget please send me a photo and some brief notes.
Awesome post and thanks for writing it up in such clear instructions. I'll be sure to post a picture once setup and working.
ReplyDelete-Phil