Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Hardware and software requirements
Let's first see what we need for this project. As with all the other chapters, you will need an
Arduino board and the Arduino Ethernet shield.
You will also need a relay module. I really recommend using a relay that is integrated on a
board, with all the required components on the board as well. It will avoid you having to
build your own relay module on a breadboard, and it is also much safer. Indeed, there is no
risk in wiring the relay and other components in an incorrect fashion. Simply make sure
that the relay you choose is compatible with 5 V input voltage levels. Also, you have to
make sure that the relay module can handle the power of the device you are going to use
for this project. For example, the lamp I used was a 30 W lamp, and the relay could handle
more than 1000 W, just to be on the safe side. I chose a 5 V relay module from Polulu, as
shown:
You can simply use the relay as it is and control it with the code we are going to develop in
this project, but the goal of having a relay is to connect a device to it. For this project, I
chose to connect a lamp to the relay, but by following the instructions in this chapter, you
will be able to connect any device that uses a standard power plug.
To do so, I used a set of power cables, one with a male socket and one with a female sock-
et, as shown in the following image:
