Building an Electrical Leakage Detection System with ACS712, ESP32, Blynk, Relay - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: copgiaj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 26, 2024, 09:06:59 pm
content: Hello everyone,I am working on a project aimed at detecting electrical leakages in home electrical systems and automatically disconnecting the circuit upon detection. I plan to use the ACS712 sensor to measure current, an ESP32 to process the signal, Blynk for remote monitoring and control, and a relay to disconnect the circuit as needed.I am facing difficulties in setting the precise threshold values to trigger the relay upon leakage detection. The sensitivity of ACS712 may not be adequate for detecting very small leak currents typically associated with household leakages.Does anyone have experience with setting up threshold values for ACS712 in similar projects?How do you ensure the reliability of the leakage detection, considering the low current values?If the ACS712 sensor is not suitable due to its sensitivity limits, can anyone recommend alternative current sensors or methods to measure AC current more effectively for this purpose? I am looking for a solution that can accurately detect small currents and integrate well with ESP32 and Blynk.I have successfully completed the setup of the measurement system using PZEM with ESP32 connected to Blynk. However, the remaining issue is that the ACS712 sensor does not operate accurately enough to detect leakage currents. This has become a significant roadblock in ensuring the effectiveness of the leakage detection system.Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I continue to develop and refine this project. Thank you in advance for your contributions!

author: aliarifat794
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2024, 01:06:14 pm
content: For detecting electrical leakages with high sensitivity, the ACS712 sensor may not be the best choice due to its limited ability to detect very small currents. HSTS016L or SCT-013-000 current transformers will be better.

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2024, 02:13:51 pm
content: I think a good place to start is to set a threshold current.Say <50mA. Hall and GMR sensors are not very sensitive.The highest gain ACS712 is 185mV/A at best.For a current of 50mA the output would be 10mV which would be burried under the a noise floor of 20mV or so.You can do a lot better with a current transformer. This is how most (all) GFCI / RCDs work.Its not unusual to see N1=N2=1 and N3=1000! Thats a lot of work unless, as suggested, you buy an off the shelf current transformer.Try N3=100 and use high gain AC opamp amplifier in a DIY version

author: copgiaj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 27, 2024, 05:06:29 pm
content: Thank you for your interest, I also tried using SCT 013 but it doesn't measure, I don't know if I have the wrong connection or not but it seems like it doesn't work when I use it :v

author: copgiaj
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 27, 2024, 05:08:20 pm
content: It seems I'm not very familiar with this type of current transformer, but if possible, can you explain it to me in detail? Thank you for your interest in my project.