Electronic – Is ACS712 isolation sufficient for SELV

analogmainssensor

Can the Allegro ACS712 current sensor be used to measure mains current with enough isolation so that the isolation between the mains (230V) side and the logic side of the sensor is enough to achieve SELV compliant isolation (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-low_voltage )?

Datasheet for ACS712:
http://www.allegromicro.com/~/media/Files/Datasheets/ACS712-Datasheet.ashx

As far as I can tell, the device has a too short creepage distance between the low voltage and 230V pins, meaning that it won't be usable to achieve the required isolation for SELV circuits.

I'm thinking one could have a slot in the PCB under the ACS712 and then fill this slot with a glue gun. In this way it might be possible to achieve 7mm creepage distance. Would this be an acceptable solution? Or will the current creep in between the glue and the SO capsule body?

Best Answer

Welcome to the ambit claims & half-truths of electronic component datasheets :-(

I belive you're correct that, depending on the contamination grade you're aiming for, this device on a solid PCB won't meet your requirements.

Adding a slot in the PCB, along with appropriate PCB routing, will help in general (without reference to any specific standard you're trying to meet) by increasing the creepage distance, but I don't think you want to be filling the slot with glue, unless you're meaning to add a 'wall' of glue in the Z plane all around the top-side of the device to increase both clearance and creepage, which is (a) ugly, (b) very difficult to service, & c) probably more expensive to manufacturer in a repeatable manner than a more appropriate selection of device.