Digital Light Sensor In applications such as lighting controls, heating ventilation and air conditioning controls or temperature controls system, there are times when you will need to adjust the control parameters based on the intensity of the ambient light. The measurement of the light intensity is thus become one of the important input that cannot be overlooked.
Light intensity is measured using Lux or illumination. An estimate of the light intensity in our everyday life is described as below.
| No | Environment | Illumination |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moonlight | <1> |
| 2 | Living Room | 45-55 lux |
| 3 | Sunrise | 400-500 lux |
| 4 | Office | 400-500 lux |
| 5 | TV Studio Lighting | 1000 lux |
| 6 | Bright Sunlight | 32,000-100,000 lux |
The advancement of technology has enabled the accurate measurement of the intensity of light. One such device is the digital light sensor from Intersil ISL29001 that is easily interfaced to any microcontroller unit using I2C. If the microcontroller does not have any I2C pins, normal Input/Output pins can also be used. The extra effort needed is the additional programming code that you will have to do if you use the normal I/O pins.
With this device, you will be able to measure the illumination of the light from 0.3 lux to 10,000 lux. The reading obtained from ISL29001 is in 15 bit digital format with a normal current consumption of less than 300 uA. A powerdown hardware pin is provided that will enable the MCU to further reduce the current consumption to less than 1uA when not in use. This power saving feature is one of the most critical consideration that you will have to made if your design gets its power from a battery source.
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