02/03/2017 ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

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Home>Hardware,Video>ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1
Shipped
January23rd,2016cnxsoftLeaveacommentGotocomments

Usually,ifIbuyahighpowerelectricappliance,Iliketodoublecheckitpowerconsumptioneither Tweet
withaKillawattwhenpossible,andwhennot,e.g.cabledirectlyhookedtothedeviceorcurrent
intensityistoohigh,Iuseadigitalelectricclampmeter.Bothmethodsarequiteconvenientasyoudontneed
tocutanywiretomeasurethecurrentanddeterminethepowerconsumption,buttheydontallowfordata
gatheringsincetheydontconnecttothenetwork.Earlierthisweek,IvecomeacrossaprojectsusingESP8266
foramainsenergymonitorforasolarpanelsetup,andmeasuringmainscurrent,electricmeter,andgasmeter.
Theyuseaphotosensortomeasurepowerconsumptionontheirelectricmeter,whichworks,butmaybe
problematicifthemeterisonthestreet,andiSnailcurrentsensor,usinghalleffectjustlikeclampmeter,but
insteadofshowingthecurrentonadisplaythesensoroutput0to5V,meaningyoucanconnectittoamicro
controllertohandlethedatahoweveryourlike.Thatsnice,butwhileaclampmetercostsabout$10,the25A
versionofiSnailgoesfor$40,soIlookedforalternatives.Iwantedtofindanalwaysonconnectedhalleffect
currentsensorthateitherharvestenergyorworksofafewswithabattery,butdidnotfindany,aninstead
discoveredcheapcurrentsensormodulesbasedonAllegroSystemsACS712supportingeither5A,20Aor30A
,workingeasilywithanaloginputsofArduinoboards,andsellingforaslowas$1shippedoneBayforthe5A,
whilethe20A&30Aversionsusuallysellforlessthan$2.

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02/03/2017 ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

Thehardware
specificationsareprettybasic:

ACS712HallEffectBasedLinearCurrentSensorIC(Datasheet)
2poleterminalforDCorACload
3pinheaderwithVCC(5V),GNDandOUTpins
InputCurrentandSensitivity(measurementscale)
/+5A185mV/A
/+20A100mV/A
/+30A66mv/A
Dimensions31x13mm

SincetheICcanmeasureinbothdirection,OUTpinoutputsVCC/2(2.5v)whentheresnocurrent,andother
valueswhichmaybelowerandgreaterthanVCC/2dependingoncurrentdirectiontoreporttheactualcurrent.

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02/03/2017 ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

MeasuringDCcurrent
isveryeasilyasyoujustneedtotakeonemeasurement,subtractVCC/2,anddividethisbythesensitivity.
AlternativecurrentisonlyalittlemorecomplicatedasyouhavetotakemanymeasurementtofindtheRMS
valueasexplainedonHenrysbenchwebsite.Ifyouareplayingwithhighvoltage(110V/220V)beverycareful,
andusingnoninvasivecurrentsensormightbeabetteridea,especiallyifyouareabeginner.

Sincetheboardhadbeenavailableforafewyears,theresplentyofdocumentationonthewebforArduino.
Oneperson(Julian)didaprettygoodvideoshowinghowitworks.

ACS712currentsensorcanalsobeinterfacedwithESP8266,butsincethewirelesschipsanaloginputonly
takes0to1V,ACS712outputmustbereducedleadingtoaloweraccuracy,unlessusedviaanexternalADC
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02/03/2017 ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

chip.ESP32wonthavethisproblemhoweverastheanaloginputsupportsupto0to4Vrange,althoughI
understandESP32mayhassomebuiltinfunctionsforenergymonitoring.

Relatedposts:

1.MT87DigitalClampMultimeterHandsOn
2.AlpsElectricMagneticFieldSensorMeasures
1.15x1.15mm,SoftwareAlgoAdds
GyroscopeFunction
3.UBRAINMicroSmartisaTiny15Axis
SensorModulewithBluetoothorZigbee
Connectivity
4.25USDHackerFriendlyElectricImpWiFi
isesYourCoffeeMachine
5.ee203RealtimeCurrentMonitorSupports1
Ato1ARange,OutputsDatatoOscilloscope

Categories:Hardware,VideoTags:arduino,esp8266,power
Comments(7)Trackbacks(0)LeaveacommentTrackback

1.
jn
January23rd,2016at16:52|#1
Reply|Quote

hmmIwilldefinitelynotletmymainAWG7ACpowerlinegothroughthis:).therearebetter&safer
noninvasiveoptionsformeasuringhigherACcurrentsmeasuringtransformers:popularSCT013xxx
familyorothersgoogle:PrecisionCurrentTransformerCoil

2.
cnxsoft
January23rd,2016at17:29|#2
Reply|Quote

@jn
Itlooksmuchsafer:).

IcanseeSeeedStudiosellsitfor$11.50@http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/NoninvasiveACCurrent
Sensor100Amaxp547.html
TheyalsohaveatutorialforESP8266@http://www.seeedstudio.com/recipe/index.php?
controller=recipe&action=show&recipe_id=377&ref=product
andabaseboardforNodeMCUcanbepurchasedonTindie@
https://www.tindie.com/products/whatnick/nodemcuenergymonitorpcbkit/

3.
Mitek
January23rd,2016at20:15|#3
Reply|Quote

Interstingtosee30Athrough2SOICpin.Ithinkgoodfire.
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02/03/2017 ACS712ModuleMeasuresCurrentsupto30AforasLowas$1Shipped

deets
January24th,2016at05:22|#4
Reply|Quote

@Mitek
Ifyoulikethatcheckoutthe60aqfnversion

5.
Squa0L
January25th,2016at03:12|#5
Reply|Quote

WhatmakesyouthinkthechipontheChineseboardareauthenticandnotacopycat?Accuracyaside,Id
beconcernedabouttheisolationfailing.

6.
cnxsoft
January25th,2016at09:32|#6
Reply|Quote

@Squa0L
Thatsagoodpoint,andthatsarisktotakeintoaccount,butIcantfindanyreportsaboutfakeACS712
onthewebdespitethethingbeingavailableforafewyears.
Theytalkedaboutthis+thesafetyofthethingonEEVBLOG@
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/acs712module/

Itsmagneticisolation.Canitfail?

Iforgottochecksafetycertificationsinthepost.ThechiphasULandothercertifications@
http://www.allegromicro.com/en/Products/CurrentSensorICs/ZeroToFiftyAmpIntegratedConductor
SensorICs/ACS712/ACS712ACS713FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx#Q21.

Idontthinkthemoduleiscertifiedhowever.

7.
gicho
January26th,2016at04:06|#7
Reply|Quote

Thechipmightbefine,butlookatthePCBtracesoftheboard!Nowaythiscouldpassanycertification.
Infact,itisquitedangerous,definatelyArduinobeginnersshouldstayawayfromit.
Pleaseputanoteinthearticlethattherearehighvoltagecircuitsinvolvedanditisnotrecommendedfor
DIY.

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