The activation of garden lights are typically regulated by on/off timers or photosensitive elements. However, as HackADay’s John Marsh notes, each method is somewhat limited by various factors.
“One misplaced leaf obscuring your light-dependent resistor can turn things on unnecessarily,” Marsh explained. “Considering the actual time of sunset fluctuates over the year, mechanical switches require constant adjustment.”
And that is why a Maker by the name of Paulo recently decided to design an automated system that relies on an Atmel-based Arduino Uno board (ATmega328) and algorithms to calculate both sunrise and sunset.
More specifically, the platform features four 7-segment displays that cycle through indicating the current time, time of sunset and sunrise. The system is also equipped with an RTC (real time clock) and battery backup for timekeeping, as well as an Omron 5V relay tasked with driving the garden lamps themselves. Oh, and yes, the relay is packed with a switch that can be used to manually switch the lights on, just in case.
Interested in learning more about Paulo’s innovative garden lights? You can check out his official project page here for a full write-up, sketches and diagrams.
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