You've Got the Power! (or not... )

The DIY solution that provides safety in the event of a power outage.

BeginnerFull instructions provided100

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon 2

Resistor 100 ohm

Elegoo KY-018 Photoresistor Module

Elegoo KY-011 Two Color LED Module

Any LED will do, this was chosen for convenience. In practice a more powerful LED is preferable.

3.7V, 1800mAh Li-Ion Polymer Battery

Story

Video Explanation and Demonstration

This IOT project is as a proof of concept for an idea valued by everyone. Safety! This project is designed to detect a power outage, and then activate an emergency light!

This project utilizes two Particle Photon 2's. The first Photon 2 (Wall Module), detects a power outage by measuring wall voltage. The second Photon 2 (Light Module), detects the ambient light level utilizing a photo-resistor and activating an LED when light levels fall below the set threshold.

Setup

The setup for this project is shown below. The Wall Module is connected to a 5V USB power supply and a battery. It utilizes a voltage divider to take the VUSB power and safely read it at the A5 pin of the Photon 2.

Power Connected

A power outage can be simulated by disconnecting the USB power supply. This causes the Wall Module to read voltage lower than the set voltage threshold. When this drop in voltage occurs, the Wall Module will send data to the Particle cloud and in turn, the Light Module.

Power Out when Disconnected

The Light Module is connected to a photo-resistor and LED bulb. It will receive a signal from the Wall Module that the power is out. When this occurs the Light Module will read the resistance value of the photo-resistor. If the the photo-resistor reads a low light level, it will activate the LED. The LED is used to simulate an emergency light being activated. The Light Module will send data to the particle cloud and the activation will be shown on the wall module by the activation of the D7 status light.

Power Disconnected with Ambient Light

Power Disconnected without Ambient Light

Both Photons send and receive data. Integrations have also been set up in order to collect data on adafruit.io. This data can be used to track when outages occur and when the light is activated.

Adafruit Voltage Data

Adafruit Light Status Data (On=1, Off=0)

Processed Light Status Data (On=1, Off=0)

Future improvements to the project could include:

Notifications
Weatherproof enclosures
Printed circuit boards

In conclusion, this proof of concept provides a simple solution to your dark entryway in the event of a power outage allowing for a greater degree of safety and convenience.

Code

int Power = A5; //Voltage output from VUSB

int Indicator = D7; //Indicator that remote light is on

int PowerOut = 100; //Low Voltage Threshold

int volts = 0; //Current Voltage


void setup() {

pinMode(Power, INPUT);
pinMode(Indicator, OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {
    
Particle.subscribe("Light", Indication); //subscribes to emergency light in order to show light on/off condition
    
delay(1000);

volts=analogRead(Power); //update volts

if (analogRead(Power)<PowerOut) {
    
    delay(500);
    Particle.publish("The Power is Out", Time.format(Time.now(), "%I:%M%p"), 60, PUBLIC); //power outage notification with time data
    delay(500);
    Particle.publish("volts", String(volts)); //volts publish for adafruit
    delay(10000);

}
else {
    
    Particle.publish("volts", String(volts)); //volts publish for adafruit
    delay(10000);
}
}

void Indication(const char *event, const char *data) { //subscribe to emergency light module
    if(strcmp(data,String(1))==0) {
        digitalWrite(Indicator, HIGH);
    }
    else if(strcmp(data,String(0))==0) {
        digitalWrite(Indicator, LOW);
    }
    else {
    }
}

int Light = D0;

int Power = D1;

int Sensor = A2;

void setup() {

pinMode(Light, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Power, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Sensor, INPUT);
pinMode(D7, OUTPUT); //hardware issue that turns D7 HIGH at boot, this corrects the issue
digitalWrite(Power, LOW);
}

void loop(){
    
delay(1000);

Particle.subscribe("The Power is Out", Emergency); //Power outage notification
}

void Emergency(const char *event, const char *data) {

digitalWrite(Power, HIGH);

if (analogRead(Sensor)<700) {
    
    digitalWrite(Light, HIGH); //light on
    Particle.publish("Light", String(1));
    delay(3000);
}
else {
    
    digitalWrite(Light, LOW); //light off
    Particle.publish("Light", String(0));
    delay(3000);
}
}