hubbatech
Projects, articles and links to information that may interest Radio Amateurs and Electronics enthusiasts

.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

Backup Lighting Controller
This processor driven controller monitors the mains voltage and if it fails for a predetermined period, will switch on 12v lighting which can consist of fluorescent or more commonly, LED lights.

Mains power does fail occasionally and is inconvenient at any time of day but at night even more so. Although the power at our location does not fail very often, when it does it tends to happen at night. The most inconvenient part of a power failure at night is lighting. Candles have caused fires and battery torches don't light an area - just a spot. One solution is to have inexpensive LED or fluorescent lighting permanently mounted in the ceiling with a battery to power these when the need arises. A simple setup would have a battery and a switch which could be manually turned on but you stll need to locate that in the dark. Then just as you turn on the lights, the power comes back on. Wouldn't it be easier if all this was automatic. This controller monitors the power whilst maintaining a charged battery. When an outage occurs, the controller will wait for several seconds before switching the lights on in case it is a quick breaker reset or supply changeover. When power resumes, the controller will wait for about 20 seconds before switching off the lights to be sure the power has stabilised. The controller will regularly test the battery under load to be sure it is ready for operation. Several operating modes are selectable by easy to change switches under the unit. The controller can be interconnected with an alarm system or fire panel to switch the lights on during an alarm or fire situation.

A full description and User Guide can be read here.