Adjustable temperature switch

This design is an adjustable temperature controlled switch which is used to on/off

the fan connected at the output terminals of the relay. The circuit is divided into two
main parts:

Transformer less power supply.

Temperature sensing and switching circuitry.

Working
The mains input voltage i.e. 220Vac is applied directly to the diode rectifier bridge
after dropping down the mains voltage from the series combination of a resistor and
a capacitor. The selection of appropriate value and wattage of a resistor and
capacitance of a capacitor is very important in this form of a power supply.
Transformer less power supply is used in those situations where the output current is
few milliamps i.e. up to 40 to 50 milliamps and also where isolation from the mains
power is not an issue.

The Effective Impedance (Z), Reactance (X) and the Mains frequency (50 60 Hz)
are the important parameters to be considered while selecting the capacitor. The
reactance(X) of the capacitor (C) in the mains frequency (f) can be calculated using
the formula

X = 1 / (2 fC)

For example the reactance of a 0.22 uF capacitor running in the mains frequency
50Hz will be X = 1 / {2 x 50 x 0.22 x( 1 / 1,000,000) } = 14475.976 Ohms 0r 14.4
Kilo ohms. Reactance of the capacitor 0.22 uF is calculated as X=1/2Pi.f.C.Where f
is the 50 Hz frequency of mains and C is the value of capacitor in Farads. That is 1
microfarad is 1 / 1,000,000 farads. Hence 0.22 microfarad is 0.22 x 1 / 1,000,000
farads. Therefore the reactance of the capacitor appears as 14475.97 Ohms or 14.4
K Ohms.

Effective impedance (Z) of the capacitor is determined by taking the load resistance
(R) as an important parameter. Impedance can be calculated using the formula
Z=vR+X
Suppose the current in the circuit is I and Mains voltage is V then the equation
appears like
I=V/X
The final equation thus becomes
I = 230 V / 14. 4 = 15.9 mA.
Therefore if a 0.22 uF capacitor rated for 230 V is used, it can deliver around 15 mA
current to the circuit. But this is not sufficient for many circuits. Therefore it is
recommended to use a 470 nF capacitor rated for 400 V for such circuits to give
required current.

After stepping down the mains voltage, the remaining voltage was rectified using
diode bridge and smooth 12vdc voltage was achieved using LM7812 voltage
regulator.

The other part of the circuit is of temperature sensing and switching. In this part the
temperature of the environment in which this temperature switch is placed, is sensed
using LM 35 temperature sensor. Its output voltage is linearly proportional to the
Celsius (Centigrade) temperature. The LM35 is rated to operate over a -55 to
+150C temperature range. It draws only 60 A from its supply, it has very low self-
heating, less than 0.1C in still air. LM35 Operates from 4 to 30 volts.

Output of IC (LM35) is 10mv/degree centigrade for e.g. if the output of sensor is 280
mV then temperature is 28C. So by using a Digital multimeter we can easily
calculate the degree temperature.

The output of the LM35 i.e. voltage in millivolts is fed into a unity gain buffer so that
less current is derived from LM35 sensor. Unity gain buffer increases the current
gain without drawing much current from the input source i.e. LM35 in this case. By
doing so much current is not derived from LM35 and it doesnt heat up the sensor.
The performance of the LM35 is not disturbed by this way and we achieve precise
measurement of the temperature.

Lm358 operational amplifier is used as a difference amplifier in this circuit. One

portion of LM358 is used as a unity gain buffer and other is used as an amplifier. The
op-amp is one type of differential amplifier. It has two inputs, inverting (-) and non-
inverting (+) and one output pin. We have used LM358 as non-inverting amplifier
which means pin 3 is the input and the output is not reversed. This circuit amplifies
the difference between its input terminals.

As a comparator, Bistable output of an op amplifier is as follows:-

The trigger level is set by a potentiometer and is applied at the pin number 2 of the
op-amp. The trigger level can be adjusted at any desired value with the help of a
potentiometer to operate this temperature switch anywhere between 10C - 120C.
The output of LM35 is applied at pin number 3 of op-amp through buffer. Output
feedback is also applied at pin number 3 of op-amp to adjust the hysteresis. In
current design the hysteresis has been adjusted to 4C.

When the temperature of the environment under test increases from the set point,
output of the op-amp gets high which triggers the coil of the 12V dc relay hence the
fan is on. When the fan is on it lowers the temperature of the environment. The
output of the op-amp remains high until the temperature difference of 4C between
set point and actual temperature of the environment is achieved. After this point the
output of the op-amp gets low.