We typically ship your component the same day*

My cart

, 0 item(s)
It's in the cart!
searching icon
Sub-total
-
Checkout
Qualified for free delivery
Shop
Platforms
Project Hub

Product of the Week

Discover something cool for your next hardware project.

Electromaker Educator

Allow our very own in-house electronics engineer extraordinaire teach you something new.

The Electromaker Show

Watch our weekly YouTube show hosted by Ian Buckley.

The Electromaker Podcast

Listen to the Electromaker Show on the go!

Blog
Join us
0
Super ESP32 M5Dial! Soldering and AI funding projects, new PocketBeagle, and More!
0:00:00 / -
Watch now on YouTube Watch now
Simple Lux Meter - Diy Light Intensity Meter

Simple Lux Meter - Diy Light Intensity Meter

Photo of Ron

Made by Ron / Displays / Environmental Sensing / Garden / Home Automation

About the project

Learn how to build a Simple Lux Meter to measure light intensity using a BH1750 sensor, Arduino UNO, and Visuino!

Project info

Difficulty: Easy

Platforms: Adafruit,  Arduino,  SparkFun,  Visuino

Estimated time: 1 hour

License: GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)

Items used in this project

Hardware components

Jumper wires (generic) Jumper wires (generic) x 1
Breadboard (generic) Breadboard (generic) x 1
SparkFun BH1750 Light sensor SparkFun BH1750 Light sensor x 1
Adafruit RGB Backlight LCD - 16x2 Adafruit RGB Backlight LCD - 16x2 x 1

Software apps and online services

Visuino Visuino
Arduino IDE Arduino IDE

Story

Step 1: What You Will Need

  • Arduino UNO or any other Arduino board
  • Breadboard
  • LCD I2C 16
  • BH1750 Ambient Light Sensor (I2C)
  • Jumper wires
  • Visuino software: Download here

Step 2: The Circuit

  • Connect Light Sensor pin [SCL] to Arduino pin [SCL]
  • Connect Light Sensor pin [SDA] to Arduino pin [SDA]
  • Connect Light Sensor pin [VCC] to Arduino pin [5v]
  • Connect Light Sensor pin [GND] to Arduino pin [GND]
  • Connect LCD pin [SCL] to Arduino pin [SCL]
  • Connect LCD Sensor pin [SDA] to Arduino pin [SDA]
  • Connect LCD Sensor pin [VCC] to Arduino pin [5v]
  • Connect LCD Sensor pin [GND] to Arduino pin [GND]

Step 3: Start Visuino, and Select the Arduino UNO Board Type

The Visuino: https://www.visuino.com also needs to be installed. Download Free version or register for a Free Trial.

Start Visuino as shown in the first picture Click on the "Tools" button on the Arduino component (Picture 1) in Visuino When the dialog appears, select "Arduino UNO" as shown on Picture 2

Step 4: In Visuino Add, Set & Connect Components

  • Add "ROHM BH1750 Ambient Light Sensor (I2C)" component
  • Add "Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) - I2C" component
  • Double click on the "LiquidCrystalDisplay1" and in the Elements window drag "Text Field" to the left side and in the properties window set "Column" to 2, "Initial Value" to LIGHT METER
  • In the Elements window drag another "Text Field" to the left side and in the properties window set "Column" to 3, "Row" to 1, "Width" to 5
  • In the Elements window drag another "Text Field" to the left side and in the properties window set "Column" to 9, "Row" to 1, "Width" to 8, "Initial Value" to LUX
  • Close the Elements window
  • Connect "LightSensor1" pin I2C Control to Arduino I2C In
  • Connect "LiquidCrystalDisplay1" pin I2C Control to Arduino I2C In

Step 5: Generate, Compile, and Upload the Arduino Code

In Visuino, at the bottom click on the "Build" Tab, make sure the correct port is selected, then click on the "Compile/Build and Upload" button.

Step 6: Play

If you power the Arduino module, the LCD will start to show the Light Intensity value in LUX.

Congratulations! You have completed your project with Visuino. Also attached is the Visuino project, that I created for this Instructable, you can download it and open it in Visuino: https://www.visuino.com

Schematics, diagrams and documents

Visuino File

Code

Visuino File

Credits

Photo of Ron

Ron

Arduino Developer

   

Leave your feedback...

Related products

Trustpilot