Thursday 22 October 2015

relay - Simple and safe solution to control a power plug with Arduino or PC



What solutions are available to control a power plug (or even if possible a light socket), i.e. turning it On and Off?


I have looked for xbee/zigbee solutions but there doesn't seem to be a solution available for European power sockets (and so few solutions even for US sockets).


A wired solution including an Arduino is OK for me. I want it to be easy to use (as for zigbee I'm ok to learn how to use it), and safe (I don't want to connect or solder things because it's 240V, I don't want any risk with the electrical installation).




Answer



I would suggest two options.


First - and this involves a small amount of wiring and soldering - using a PowerSwitchTail II. This is a very safe way of switching mains voltage. There is adequate isolation, it is safely cased and tested.


If you really want to do no wiring or soldering at all, then I would suggest finding one of the common 434/868/915MHz (depending on region) remote controlled sockets using a basic OOK protocol, and buy a simple 434MHz transmitter. A number of the protocols are documented in various places. The only issue with these is that you have no sure way of knowing if the switch is on or off.


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