I’ve got a raspberry pi 2 and a pi zero w
I want to try and automate light and fans for simulated wind to maximize photosynthesis
The lights are 5v2a each and I have 2 and the fans will be 2x 120mm 12v so I guess a max of 1a each so I can play with different fans
I’ll be using a spider plant for it’s oxygen producing nature
Whilst I’m peeing my pants laughing, you should really move this to it’s proper category so as to not waste moderators’ time.
What proper category should I post in, what exactly about this isn’t gardening
I got this all wrong. I apologize.
What will you be using to power all of this?
Not sure at the moment I’ll have to check the box-o-DC power-supplies
I’ll have to order a relay for sure, I don’t have one and never used them before
Shipping from China takes forever so I might try and find a place local that sells them
Just make sure that the power brick meets the exact specs of the RPis without going over.
You’ll want to simulate a day/night cycle, though, which could be 2 hours on/2 hours off, etc. It could also be done depending on temperature with a +/-1-2ºC sensitivity thermal probe.
As far as software to control all of it, I’m not sure.
Just gonna throw in my experience here – (many years of hobby electronics, some robots, lots of computers that haven’t died of power issues).
Voltage rating is the important part when getting power supply parts for electronics.
Amperage rating for power supplies is usually a maximum or optimal rating. You should always be able to have an over-rated power supply (at the correct voltage) and be fine.
Examples:
DC 5V 20A supply will likely be fine running anything UP TO 20A @ 5V. If you’re gonna pull more than that, you’ll either trigger a over-current protection circuit, or you’ll kill your power supply, or it’ll start under-volting and causing issues to the thing being powered, or just die in some way that is… unpleasant. Maybe it kills the device(s) downstream with it.
So, in all likelihood, based on your spec with some 5v 2A lights, and some 12v fans…
You could look at something like Switching 5v 12v 24v power supply
Amazon shopping word-salad aside, there’s a bazillion embedded AC-DC multi-output supplies meant to be embedded in other products and things (think mini-computer power supplies) that take AC voltage from the wall and have a few DC voltages that they spit out. In this product it’s 5v up to 8A, 12v up to 8A, and 24V up to 3A… is that cumulative? I dunno. You’d need to get a datasheet and/or check the overall wattage rating (voltage x amperage = wattage). But just know that power supplies in this form factor exist, are relatively cheap, and can supply you with all the power you need for running things at different voltages in a single package.
These are meant to be mounted in some kind of project box and you’d need to do your own wiring. But finding the pieces to put together a cool project doesn’t need to be too hard. A lot of the pieces are out there.
From my own project that’s not been realized:
(sorry for all the Amazon links… I don’t really endorse buying from Amazon, but on the other hand they do have a lot of things like what I’m looking for – other sources are: jameco, mcmastercarr, digikey, adafruit, and sparkfun – amongst many others)
Edit:
ALSO: Sounds like a fun project. Curious to see what comes of it. Playing with electronics and stuff is fun. Are you planning on measuring things somehow with the spider plant? (moisture, oxygen / CO2 levels, etc)
As a former returns worker I’m not overly fond of Amazon either but at least the forum auto injects affiliate codes so Wendell gets a kickback
I had a thought on how to simulate the day/night cycle this morning; you could have the lights dim/brighten in 5-10% steps over a period of time for “sunrise/sunset”. If the lights aren’t smart bulbs with a dimming feature, you could play with stepping down/up the voltage provided to the bulbs.
They are dimmable they’re panel led lights i got at a thrift store
5v2a each
Thinking about pointing the fans at the soil as to not dry out the leaves and only having them on a short period and not full speed
Is it with a mister or repurposed computer parts- this was interesting just asking.
