Author Topic: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel  (Read 4776 times)

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OperaHouse

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This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« on: July 17, 2017, 09:44:36 AM »
The PV hot water system has been running great for a couple of years, but the wife still doesn't believe we have enough water.  I would still catch her boiling water to do dishes, afraid we wouldn't have enough left for showers.   I found this Wallace and Gromit alarm clock and thought it would make a nice control panel. I had only two LED in the house system, but the panel had space for four.  Artistic license allowed me to add two more functions. Just don't believe in complex displays.  It should be inconspicuous like a fridge.

The blue LED flashes to indicate how many minutes are left before the fridge ends the cooling cycle. These cycles are timed but can be extended or end early depending on conditions. When fridge stops it flashes how many minutes before the fridge is allowed to restart.

The Green LED indicates when the "house" battery is connected for charging.  This powers the house at night preserving a full charge for the fridge battery to start early in the morning. The house battery is also the boat battery which can be removed when needed. Hopefully the boat will get in the water this year.  This battery is almost non functional having only about 10AH of capacity.  Still enough to watch a DVD at night.

Yellow LED indicates power diversion to the hot water tanks. It will flicker at low power levels. This is a nice indication that the battery is fully charged, especially when the fridge is running and the panels are putting out excess power.

Red is system status. If everything is normal it will flash just once every six seconds. If fridge temp is too high or the battery voltage is low, it has other sequences.

Hopefully the temperature readout will assure her there is enough water for everything.

I was just at the dump and someone was about to dump a very recent GE dishwasher in metal recycling. Like there is any metal in a dishwasher today.  The guy said it was from a rental unit and had just stopped after an electrical storm. That's true. The fuse and MOV were blown apart from a pretty big hit to the control board. Cut out the MOV and jumpered the fuse, the unit worked again.  It will take a little conversion to make it start and stop as power becomes available.  Worst of all I have to remodel the kitchen to get it to fit in.  That is an indication of just how much hot water I am producing.


Bruce S

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Re: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« Reply #1 on: July 17, 2017, 09:50:28 AM »
You find ALL the kewl stuff!!  8).

Next big question:: Is it working for the wife?

Cheers
A kind word often goes unsaid BUT never goes unheard

OperaHouse

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Re: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« Reply #2 on: July 17, 2017, 09:57:29 AM »
The educational section of the temp display.....

One of the most useful functions of the Arduino is MAP. This allows taking any sensor information
in bits and converting it to a useful number in engineering units. Best used in data with linear
slope. However, most data is somewhat linear for short intervals. Multiple MAP functions can be
used for limited sections of a curve. The calibration data does not need to fully from end to end
of the data span. It will interpolate beyond that. If you have data for 167 counts and 689 counts
it will calculate the value for 101 counts or 778 counts.

The water tank temperature sensing uses a cheap $3 temperature control board that has a
resistive sensor that is pulled up to 5V by a 10K resistor. This is ideal for the A/D converter
input of a UNO and they can just be connected together at the same time. The display is a bonus
not requiring you to write any code or add additional electronics. Hard to replicate for $3.
Calibration is very easy.  Just replace the sensor with a pot and adjust to any temperature desired
on the display.  The A/D readings are then recorded for that temperature. This will require you
to have a diagnostic code to read these values. Quite easy using Serial Monitor in TOOLS. Here is
the sample code I used as part of the house program.
 
   
   AI5  = analogRead (5);      // Anolog In.  Read temp board sensor   
                                         // PIN #A5 TANK #1 TEMP
   
The A/D converter produces a number with a maximum  of 1K counts. I has a noise level of up
to six counts.  With small numbers, this is a problem. Averaging produces a very stable number.
The following routine smothes out those variances and multiplies the raw A/D number by 16.
Unless declared as something else, a variable is a maximum of +- 16K.  Going beyond that produces
strange results.  Since maximum A/D reading is 1K and it is multiplied by 16, that 16K is  never
violated. Always be careful not to exceed variable limits. Try to use binary numbers,2, 4, 8,
16,32 as they are faster in math multiplies and divides. That becomes only a shift left or right.
 
  WH1avg = WH1avg - WH1avg / 16 ;     // average temp raw data X16 to get rid of noise
  WH1avg = WH1avg  + AI5 ;                 // this is a times sixteen multiplier
 
The map function will convert any count to an engineering value.  The bigger the input number
that is used, the more accurate it will be. In the tank temperature range that number can be
as low as 180 counts from the A/D.  Therefore, the above multiplication is performed. Noise if
averaged can increase the accuracy of the reading.  This routine does slow down the response
time. In this case it helps.  other times it creates big problems. The output number is in
degrees C times 10.  So, 45.3C is 453.  I just like using integer numbers and again, the bigger
the better.

  temp1 = map (WH1avg , 4730, 2590, 300, 490);  // For TEMP SENSOR with 10K pullup to +5V X16
 
  //      format...  DATA,  LOW RAW,  HIGH RAW,  LOW OUT,  HIGH OUT,
  //                        Output is X10 in degrees C
 

  //                          WATER HEATER #1 TEMP ANALOG OUT IN F
  //                            Like who understands degrees C
 
temp1avg is the value in C of tank #1 times ten from MAP function.   (503 = 50.3C)
A running average of that value is taken over 8 samples giving a multiplier of eight FOR
temp1avg.  (4024) This additional average is done because in my other control logic I need
really stable numbers.
 
  temp1avg = temp1avg - temp1avg / 8 ;      // average temp to get rid of noise
  temp1avg = temp1avg + temp1 ;               // this is a times eight multiplier
 
  //               ANALOG METER PWM FOR CONVERSION      F = C * 9 / 5 + 32
 
Math follows the MiDAS rule.  Multiplications are done first, Divisions next, Additions follow
and Subtraction last. This math example is very simple. Others can be hard to get your head
around if you are not familiar with math. Perfectly fine to do one operation at a time to
avoid errors. This will also make it easier to detect when limits have been exceeded.
                                                                           
  T1WH = temp1avg / 5;                      // reduce number first to prevent over run (804)
  T1WH =  T1WH * 9;                         // then multiply        (7236)
  T1WH = T1WH + 2560;                    // add in freezing X8 X10 =2560  (9796)

  T1WH = T1WH / 44;                         // divide by whatever to get a nice 0-255 range (195)
                                                         // 25C 77F, would be (123) for reference

End up with a PWM value as close to 255 as possible to produce the highest voltage and give you as many bits of resolution as possible. The number chosen  gives about 3.7V normally.  A resistive voltage divider converts that to about 1.2V for the meter. If the decimal point is ignored or painted over, the reading is in in degrees F with a three digit 0-10V digital meter.  Smoothing of the PWM pulses to give an average voltage is performed with a 5.1K resistorgoing to a 150uF capacitor, negative of capacitor connected to common.  A voltage divider of about 100K is suitable for the meter.
                                                                           
  if (blinktime == 10 || blinktime == 110) analogWrite (6,T1WH);     // send out temp as analog
                                                                                                 // value twice a cycle

I don't like updating every program loop. This updates the display about every 3 seconds.  blinktime is a loop count and || is an OR function.  Update is done at either 10 or 110.

Analog transmissions are old school but work well for long distances.  This display is 30 feet from power shed.  These meters only cost a little more than a buck and it is simple to use technology.  This is the temp display in the shed.
 


SparWeb

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Re: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2017, 01:18:26 AM »
Quote
...Red is system status...

It should shout: "Gromit, you've got the wrong trousers!"
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
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OperaHouse

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Re: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2017, 01:08:46 PM »
It did have an audio module, it is around somewhere, that said "Time for walkies."  Have yet to figure out what to identify with that.  The slippers and dog bowl have push button switches. Probably use one to start inverter for dishwasher.  Excited about the dishwasher. It will have raw DC bus from panels powering the heater. Not sure how the dishwasher handles heat.  Inline snap switch disconnects element at 125F and micro faults if it doesn't reach 120F 3 out of 5 times it operates. May have to fake the micro into thinking it is hotter as I don't want to go through reset procedure. Heater element will be controlled externally but will only get 150W at best.

SparWeb

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Re: This ain't no Micky Mouse control panel
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2017, 02:22:34 PM »
It adds a touch of class to your home.
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca