Dr. Wattson
Energy Monitoring Module for Arduino, Raspberry Pi and other Maker-Friendly Microcontrollers
Easily integrate quality AC energy measurements into your next project!
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What is Dr. Wattson?
Dr. Wattson is an Energy Monitoring Module from Upbeat Labs that allows you to easily incorporate high quality AC energy monitoring and measurements in your next project! It is coupled with easy to use Arduino and Python libraries that together with the Dr. Wattson Module make getting quality AC energy data like RMS Current, RMS Voltage, Power Factor, Line Frequency, Active/Reactive/Apparent Power a breeze, with just a couple of lines of code.
The unit comes pre-calibrated, enabling you to start taking quality measurements from 90-240v, at either 50 or 60 Hz, and for currents up to 15A. You don't need any additional CT/VT or other components.
Dr. Wattson is based on the MCP39F521, a single-phase power monitoring chip from Microchip.
The board is designed to be tolerant of different logic levels using bi-directional level shifting, so it can be used with both 5v and 3.3v systems.
Dr. Wattson caters to both the novice and advanced user! The libraries are very comprehensive and allow for advanced usage, while still making it intuitive and easy to use for the common use-case.
If you're familiar with the MCP39F521 and its calibration and other commands it supports, you can also change the measurement range by changing the burden resistors on the board and recalibrating the board (essentially treating the Dr. Wattson board as a breakout board for the MCP39F521).
Measure Big. Or Small
Whether you want to measure small standby power consumption or larger loads, Dr. Wattson has you covered. Boasting a 4000:1 Dynamic Range, and capable of 0.1% accuracy, the MCP39F521 is a versatile chip, allowing you great flexibility with measurements. Dr. Wattson takes that flexibility and makes it easy to use!
Arduino & Python Libraries
Comprehensive, yet easy-to-use Arduino & Python (Raspberry Pi or BeagleBoard) libraries means you can integrate this into your application and jump right away into making measurements and other functionality.
Quality Construction
Environmentally friendly and high quality ENIG finish (lead-free) with lead-free solder. Rounded edges, and M2.5 mounting holes that allow you to mount it into your enclosure.
Use up to 4 boards
Solder jumpers on the board enable you to pick from 4 possible I2C addressing schemes, allowing you to control 4 of these boards from a single MCU using the same I2C bus.
ZCD and Event pins
Use the Zero Cross Detector (ZCD) output to orchestrate any synchronization like firing a Triac for dimming, or making a clock based on your AC line frequency!
The event pin gives you output indication on the presence of configured events of interest, like voltage surge/sag, over-current, over-power.
MCU friendly
While the board is powered by 3.3v, it includes a Vin pin (set it to your MCU logic level voltage) and bi-directional level shifting on all IO pins, so you can use a 5v system or a 3.3v system without any modifications or need for level shifting.