İzmir University of Economics
EEE201 Electrical Circuits I
Team Project 1:
Implementation of a Simple LDR circuit for Street Lighting Control
BACKGROUND
1. Ligth Dependent Resistor(LDR)
A Light Dependent Resistor (LDR, photoconductor, or photocell) is a device
which has a resistance which varies according to the amount of light falling on its
surface. LDRs or Light Dependent Resistors are very useful especially in
light/dark sensor circuits. Normally the resistance of an LDR is very high,
sometimes as high as 1 Mega ohms, but when they are illuminated with light
resistance drops dramatically. A typical light dependent resistor is pictured in
Figure 1 together with (on the right hand side) its circuit diagram symbol.
Figure 1. LDR symbol
Light dependent resistors are a vital component in any electric circuit
which is to be turned on and off automatically according to the level of ambient
light - for example, solar powered garden lights, night security lighting, flashes
of the photograph machines, webcams, door bells and etc.
When the light level is low the resistance of the LDR is high as shown in Figure
2.a. In this case current not flows A to B due to high resistance. When the light
level is high the resistance of the LDR is low as shown in Figure 2.b. In this case,
a current flows A to B due to low resistance.
a.
b.
Figure 2. a. No current flows. b. A current flows.
In this project, a LDR circuit will be used for lighting a LED when there is no light
around.
2. Light Emitting Diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as
indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting.
Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962, early LEDs emitted lowintensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible,
ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode, 16.04.2012 10:38.)
A typical LED is pictured in Figure 3 together with (on the right hand side) its
circuit diagram symbol.
a.
b.
Figure 3. a. Parts of a LED. b. Circuit symbol of LED.
When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able
to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form
of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the light
(corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of
the semiconductor. LEDs are often small in area (less than 1 mm2), and
integrated optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern. LEDs
present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy
consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, and faster
switching.
3. Printing the Circuit
A very simple LDR circuit depicted in Figure 4 will be used in the Project
for mimicking the street lighting control. 9V battery is for providing DC power to
LED. 1 K ohm resistor is for limiting the voltage across the LED and also the
current passing through the LED. LDR has about 1 Mega ohm resistance when no
ligth is avaliable in the environment, so allows only a very small current passing
through it. In this case, the large portion of the current passes through the LED
leading the LED to emit a light. At the bright light, the resistance of LDR is
reduced to around 500 ohms. Now the large portion of the current passes
through the LDR, causing LED not to emit light or to emit low intensity light.
Proteus program will be used in order to draw and then printing out the
LDR circuit. Proteus program is a circuit simulation program and software
for microprocessor simulation, schematic capture, and printed circuit board (PCB)
design. In Proteus, we will use the circuit design which is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Circuit scheme
The required components of the circuit are:
1x 1k resistor
1x LED
1x LDR
9V Voltage source
A light source(like torch)
Then ,we will adjust the circuit size for the choice of the copper which we
will cut and place the components on it, by choosing the appropriate sizes by
selecting “board edge” on Proteus. And then, we will choose the drill holes
diagram of the circuit in order to place the components on the copper easily, and
then we are taking the mirror side of the roads for the top coat and then we will
take the print out of our drawing because when the printed part comes onto the
copper, the ink will be turned into its mirror sight.
In this printing circuit method, we drew our circuit on Proteus program and
we chose an appropriate copper sheet according to the length of our drawing on
the Proteus again. Then we will print out the circuit by using ARES onto a special
thin paper. Then we will place the thin paper onto the copper sheet and we will
make ironing. With the help of the heat from the iron, the schematic will be
printed on the copper by ink.
Figure 5. Printing the ink onto the copper
Then we will scratch the roads on the copper and make them clearer. We
will make holes with the driller on the copper in order to place the circuit
elements on the board.
Figure 6. The printed copper
Figure 7. Drilling the holes
Then we will put down the copper into Fe3Cl solution and we will make
soldering to the troughole components on the circuit.
Figure 8. Collapsing the circuit
Figure 9. Final state of the circuit
Now we are ready to place the components onto the circuit and then we
will make soldering to the components onto the copper.
Figure 10- Soldering the components
3. Working Principle of the Circuit
This is an LDR contolled darkness detector circuit. In this circuit we used a
1K ohm resistor to limit the voltage and also the current of the LED, a light
dependent resistor (LDR), and an LED. When a light is not incident on the LDR,
then the resistance of the LDR is very high around the range of 1M ohm but
when we illuminate it with the light then the resistance of the LDR decreases
rapidly to around 500 ohms.
We know that if two resistors are in series and we apply a DC Voltage to it
then the value of the voltage across each resistor is directly proportional to the
value of the resistance of that resistor. Here when there is no light then
resistance of LDR is high hence the voltage across it will be more. Due to this,
LED will glow. When there is light then the resistance of LDR decreases and
voltage across it will also reduced. Now LED will not glow due to low voltage.
Important note: When you are going to solder the LED, keep some distance
between LED and LDR so that when LED glows it will not strike on the LDR.