I am new to this, but I am looking to regulate a few ballast controlled fluorescent lamps with a micro-controller. Everything I look at has a low operating voltage and below 10 volt input/output voltage. I want to have a/c hookup to the microcontroller with full power output to the ballast (when told to do so by the program on the chip). Am I misinterpreting what the input/output and operating voltages mean, or are high voltage applications of microcontrollers not too common? I was looking at some arduino products or something similar. Any direction or clarification is much appreciated.
Electronic – High Voltage input and output microcontroller
electronic-ballasthigh voltagemicrochipmicrocontrollerprogramming
Best Answer
I think all microcontrollers operate on 5 volts or less, and all inputs/outputs are also 5 volts or less. It is very common to have level translators between the microcontroller and whatever it is controlling.
To control 120 volt (or 230 volt) AC devices, you could use a mechanical or solid state relay that could be driven by the microcontroller..