ACS712 Low Current Sensor Hookup Guide
This Tutorial is Retired!
Note: This tutorial is for the ACS712 Current Sensor Breakout Boards. If you are using either of the newer ACS723 Breakout Boards, please refer to the new Current Sensor Breakout (ACS723) Hookup Guide.
View the updated tutorial: Current Sensor Breakout (ACS723) Hookup Guide
Contributors:
AGlass0fMilk
AGlass0fMilk Resources and Going Further
The ACS712 sensor is ideal if you need to measure a small to moderate amount of current, especially if it's AC current! For more information about the ACS712, check out the links below:
- ACS712 Datasheet
- SparkFun Hall-Effect Current Sensor Breakout - ACS712
- SparkFun Low Current Sensor Breakout - ACS712
If you don't need electrical isolation and want to measure smaller currents, check out the INA169 Breakout Board. And for even higher power applications, check out the Non-Invasive Current Sensor - 30A.
For more power related learning, check out the tutorials below:
Electric Power
An overview of electric power, the rate of energy transfer. We'll talk definition of power, watts, equations, and power ratings. 1.21 gigawatts of tutorial fun!
LilyPad Simple Power Hookup Guide
A basic guide for getting started using the LilyPad Simple Power with LiPo batteries.
Measuring Internal Resistance of Batteries
Classroom STEM activity that has students build a battery from a lemon, measure the open and closed circuit voltages, and determine the battery's internal resistance.
Power Delivery Board - USB-C (Qwiic) Hookup Guide
This guide will go over how to use the USB Type-C Power Delivery Board.