Switching a LED fitting with a solid state relay

[ppppenguin]

Any ideas on making this work? As expected, the leakage through a SSR in the off state is enough to dimly illuminate the LED fitting.

This is what I had in my parts box: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/solid-sta...ys/2181937 Off state leakage is given as 8mA.

I suppose I could use an old fashioned relay to switch the mains LED from a 12V DC control signal.

Since this is related to my recent question about a failed sensor light, I wonder if I could somehow bodge the 12VDC to operate the switch in the sensor light. Mains isolation might be a problem.

[Murphyv310]

Put a resistor across the LED!

[ppppenguin]

Thanks. Worked better than expected. 22K didn't work, the LED still glowed. 15K does work. Whether that will be true at all temperatures is another question. The 15K resistor will dissipate a little under 4W with the light on, less than a watt with the light off. I suppose that's acceptable.

[Murphyv310]

I have to say I don't like solid state relays and prefer the bistable mechanical type for an application like this. They remember the state they are in until pulsed off or on. No wasted power with them.

[ppppenguin]

Bistable relays are nice but not really suitable for this job. A conventional relay would work.

All I want, is for the light on the garage to switch on along with other outdoor lighting. There's no easy route for switched mains from the other outdoor lighting to the garage. Until now I've relied on a sensor light on the garage but since that failed I've re-thought what I'm trying to achieve. I've got spare cores in the alarm cable that goes from house to garage and some 12V outdoor lighting. Connecting the 12V from the outdoor lighting to a spare pair of cores in the alarm cable looks easy enough. Just needs a relay by the garage light.

Why not use a 12V light at the garage? The voltage drop along the alarm wiring would be excessive.

[Murphyv310]

Plenty of 12v LEDs for cars that could be adapted. The non canbus types are more economic in consumption. I run some 12v car LEDs at 11v, big drop in current but hardly any change in light output.

[ppppenguin]

Down 70+ feet of thin alarm wire I'd be lucky to get anything like 11V with a few watts of LED on the end.

[ppppenguin]

Just did some voltage drop calcs. For a modest 300mA (that's a 3.6W LED at 12V ) I'd lose over 4V on the run.

[`FRANK.C]

Hi Jeffrey
May not suit what you are trying to achieve.
But what I use here to control the outside lighting is Tapo smart plug.
One example here https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Tapo-Mo...B097YBXHTW
They need to be in range of wifi as they connect to the internet that way.
I have one in my shed to control the outside lights and it has no problem connecting to the router without a wifi extender.
It is controlling LED lamps without any glow from the lamps when off.
I can hear what sounds like a mechanical relay as it switches on or off.

It can be controlled from an app on the phone and can be set to turn on at dusk and off at dawn.
The on and off times then changes automaticity to suit the changing length of the days.


Frank

[ppppenguin]

Thanks Frank. Unfortunately my wifi doesn't reach as far as my garage.

I only use the outdoor lighting when I need it. I don't need dusk to dawn lighting.