Purpose
The objective of this project is to provide an audible indicator when a refrigerator or freezer door is left open. It is very common for an individual to walk away from a refrigerator with the door not closing all the way. This could result in spoiled food and beverages that are stored in the refrigerator. This will also cause the fridge having to work harder to stay cold and therefore result in higher electric bills. Having an indicator to let you know when the fridge is left open can help save food from spoiling as well as money on electricity. The versatility of the product could also be used for mistakenly leaving garage doors open or forgetting lights on in another room.
Setting up the photon in the refrigerator without telling anyone so reactions weren't altered, it is clear to see that people are conscious of the time they spend with the door open. Perhaps browsing and unsure of what they wanted to eat or keeping the door open as they maneuvered their way to the back of the fridge to discover its hidden contents, just one time out of eleven were the doors open for more than sixty consecutive seconds. This is further proof of how marketable our product is. People prefer their groceries to stay fresh. Nobody wants to come home to sour milk and rotten meat.
With a max analog value of 4095 you can see that the nearer sixty seconds was approached, and even surpassed, the closer the value got to its maximum for light output. The main factor here is how widely the doors were opened and how much ambient light entered, conversely how much much cool air left the refrigerator and how rapidly. Some variance was found, perhaps from the angle or how far the person needed to dig into the shelves or drawers.
SetupThe indicator system consists of a photo resistor, an LED, an audible buzzer, and two 220 Ohm resistors. These will be connected to two photons, one in the fridge and one outside the fridge. The photo resistor is connected to the photon inside the fridge, and is used to detect whether the door of the fridge is closed or not. Most modern refrigerators have a light switch on the door that is pressed when the door is closed, so the door being cracked will provide the photo resistor with light. An LED light is also placed inside the fridge as a sort of failsafe. The LED will illuminate when there is no light on inside the fridge, indicating the door is closed. The last sensor, the audible buzzer, is on the photon that is not inside the fridge. This photon can be placed on a countertop and receive power from a wall outlet. The photon in the fridge monitors the light and temperature inside. If the light remains on for more than 60 seconds the buzzer will sound; telling the user that the fridge door needs to be closed.
A 5V, 3000 mA battery bank is used to power the photon located in the fridge. This will power the photon for up to 12 hours before recharging is required.
Google sheets reference material for graphs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NqMWiOZxwgMPlXxPtBuVeu8hE-Rw0ZqoCxiusjo-qnc/edit#gid=0
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