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OPT3002: OPT3002 Light Sensor advice

Dharmesh Joshi
Expert 1785 points
Part Number: OPT3002

Hi

 I am interested in using a light sensor for an indoor and outdoor plantation project. The aim is to monitor how intensive of both natural and artificial light are over a period of time against growth.

 Can you advise me the following sensor will be adequate. This will be placed in a enclosure, so for the light to reach the sensor would some form of LED pipe be recommended? 

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 18275 points
    Dharmesh,

    Light does need to be viewable to the sensor. The OPT3002 is the lowest cost ambient light sensor so without knowing more information on your specs. Theoretically it will work.
  • 0 in reply to Amy Schnoor
    Expert 1785 points

    Hi Amy

    To make the light view able to the sensor, i would need to make a small window in the casing. This is not a problem , as the hole will be directly be above sensor. 

    A small test can be done to see the difference between sensor results in the casing and out of the casing. The difference can become the compensation factor which can be later added in software to the results.

    Will this sensor be capable to read daylight, as the aim is to measure daylight ans compare it to plant growth.

    Thank You 

  • 0 in reply to Dharmesh Joshi
    TI__Mastermind 18275 points

    Dharmesh,

    Not sure what you mean by "read daylight". The part will work both in daylight and night time. So, I believe the answer to your question is yes.

  • 0 in reply to Amy Schnoor
    Expert 1785 points

    Amy

    Sorry, what i meant to say was when its day , i would like measure the light intensity against plant growth over a period of time.I believe this sensor will produce an wave length reading output. 

  • 0 in reply to Dharmesh Joshi
    Expert 1785 points
    Dear Amy

    Can this sensor also indicate how well a solar panel will output its power?

    Thanks

    DJ
  • 0 in reply to Dharmesh Joshi
    TI__Mastermind 18275 points

    DJ,

    I'm not exactly sure what you mean? I want to say theoretically yes. The device will give a digital output that can be converted into Lux and that information can be used to vary displays. For solar panels, I have not heard of this being done like this, but you can use the digital information and create some software schemes to use the information.

  • 0 in reply to Amy Schnoor
    Expert 1785 points

    Dear Amy 

    Thanks.

    From my understanding the device can produce measurement that can be used to compare the growth of plants.

    In addition to this, i thought can this measurement be used to determine how much solar charge can be expected in a area? For example if a solar panels is rated to 12V 1A, that is 12W.. 

    Depending on the wavelength measured, would it be possible to measure how effective the 12W can be achievable?

  • 0 in reply to Dharmesh Joshi
    TI__Mastermind 25815 points
    Hi Dharmesh,

    You'd need to know the spectrum of the incoming light. The OPT3002 outputs a single value corresponding to the current generated by the light hitting the sensor. This value (the device response) corresponds to the power of the light, but will vary with the spectrum/wavelength of the incoming light. The response of the device vs. wavelength is given in the datasheet and needs to be taken into account.

    The spectrum of sunlight will change with the angle of the sun in the sky, but could be approximated. Additionally, for more precision, you could take the time of day into account. You will need to do some experiments with the OPT3002 to get an idea of how much accuracy you need for your application. Doing this, you can measure the power of the light. For the solar panel you will still need to take into account the response vs. spectrum and efficiency of the solar panel itself.

    Regards,

    Alex
  • 0 in reply to Alex Bhandari-Young
    Expert 1785 points

    Hi Alex

    I think it will be best to avoid using the device for my additional solar idea and simply just use it a measurement device for my plant application, as this would mean i will be deviating away from the scope of the application and an increase in unnecessary work. 

    In short i would like to compare plants growth against the reading from the device over time, is there any application notes for such application ?

  • 0 in reply to Dharmesh Joshi
    TI__Mastermind 49176 points
    Hi Dharmesh,

    We do not have the application note specifically for your application. I'm closing this thread for now.
    If you have further questions feel free to post them and the thread will automatically reopen.