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Reading a Thermistor
This is a function I wrote to convert the value from an analogRead call of a pin with a thermistor connected to it
to a temperature. Unlike most other programs that use a look-up table, this function utilizes the Steinhart-Hart
Thermistor Equation to convert "Thermistor Resistance" to "Temperature in Degrees Kelvin." I found the equation
here, but it can also be found at Wikipedia.
The more simple program shows how little code is necessary to do the conversion, and how much memory and
program space can be saved when compared to a large look-up table.
The more elaborate program shows the power of the function. It displays lots of data including the ADC (from 0 to
1023), the voltage on the analog pin (note: ideally, the arduino would be running at 5.0 volts, but my power
supply gives it 4.86 volts, so I divide by 4.86. Look at the code to change that to whatever your power supply is
giving), the resistance of the Thermistor, and the temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit. It uses the printDouble
routine which I found in a forum post here.
I hope this comes in handy for everyone. Like most of my code, it's freely usable and modifiable, and no credit is
needed. Free, like arduino should be.
============================================================
Thermistor Test Schematic
============================================================
(Ground) ---- (10k-Resister) -------|------- (Thermistor) ---- (+5v)
|
Analog Pin 0
============================================================
The Simple Code
============================================================
#include <math.h>

double Thermister(int RawADC) {
double Temp;
Temp = log(((10240000/RawADC) - 10000));
Temp = 1 / (0.001129148 + (0.000234125 * Temp) + (0.0000000876741 * Temp * Temp * Temp));
Temp = Temp - 273.15; // Convert Kelvin to Celcius
Temp = (Temp * 9.0)/ 5.0 + 32.0; // Convert Celcius to Fahrenheit
return Temp;
}

void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
}

void loop() {
Serial.println(int(Thermister(analogRead(0)))); // display Fahrenheit
delay(100);
}

============================================================
The Elaborate Code
============================================================
#include <math.h>
//Schematic:
// [Ground] ---- [10k-Resister] -------|------- [Thermistor] ---- [+5v]
// |
// Analog Pin 0

double Thermistor(int RawADC) {
// Inputs ADC Value from Thermistor and outputs Temperature in Celsius
// requires: include <math.h>
// Utilizes the Steinhart-Hart Thermistor Equation:
// Temperature in Kelvin = 1 / {A + B[ln(R)] + C[ln(R)]^3}
// where A = 0.001129148, B = 0.000234125 and C = 8.76741E-08
long Resistance; double Temp; // Dual-Purpose variable to save space.
Resistance=((10240000/RawADC) - 10000); // Assuming a 10k Thermistor. Calculation is actually: Resis
Temp = log(Resistance); // Saving the Log(resistance) so not to calculate it 4 times later. // "Temp" m
Page 1 of 2 Arduino playground - Thermistor2
19-5-2010 http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ComponentLib/Thermistor2
Share |
Temp = 1 / (0.001129148 + (0.000234125 * Temp) + (0.0000000876741 * Temp * Temp * Temp)); // Now it m
Temp = Temp - 273.15; // Convert Kelvin to Celsius // Now it o

// BEGIN- Remove these lines for the function not to display anything
Serial.print("ADC: "); Serial.print(RawADC); Serial.print("/1024"); // Print out RAW ADC Number
Serial.print(", Volts: "); printDouble(((RawADC*4.860)/1024.0),3); // 4.860 volts is what my USB Po
Serial.print(", Resistance: "); Serial.print(Resistance); Serial.print("ohms");
// END- Remove these lines for the function not to display anything

// Uncomment this line for the function to return Fahrenheit instead.
//Temp = (Temp * 9.0)/ 5.0 + 32.0; // Convert to Fahrenheit
return Temp; // Return the Temperature
}

void printDouble(double val, byte precision) {
// prints val with number of decimal places determine by precision
// precision is a number from 0 to 6 indicating the desired decimal places
// example: printDouble(3.1415, 2); // prints 3.14 (two decimal places)
Serial.print (int(val)); //prints the int part
if( precision > 0) {
Serial.print("."); // print the decimal point
unsigned long frac, mult = 1;
byte padding = precision -1;
while(precision--) mult *=10;
if(val >= 0) frac = (val - int(val)) * mult; else frac = (int(val) - val) * mult;
unsigned long frac1 = frac;
while(frac1 /= 10) padding--;
while(padding--) Serial.print("0");
Serial.print(frac,DEC) ;
}
}

void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
}

#define ThermistorPIN 0 // Analog Pin 0
double temp;
void loop() {
temp=Thermistor(analogRead(ThermistorPIN)); // read ADC and convert it to Celsius
Serial.print(", Celsius: "); printDouble(temp,3); // display Celsius
temp = (temp * 9.0)/ 5.0 + 32.0; // converts to Fahrenheit
Serial.print(", Fahrenheit: "); printDouble(temp,3); // display Fahrenheit
Serial.println(""); // End of Line
delay(100); // Delay a bit... for fun, and to not Serial.pri
}

Page 2 of 2 Arduino playground - Thermistor2
19-5-2010 http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ComponentLib/Thermistor2