Gas fireplace control with 0-3V signal

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flux_capacitor
Posts: 1
Joined: 20 Apr 2019 15:01

Gas fireplace control with 0-3V signal

Post by flux_capacitor »

Hi,
Some gas fireplaces have a relay (dry contacts) to drive their burner with a 0/3VDC signal.
For example the Honeywell controller in some fireplace models by DRU (a Dutch company) can drive the burner with these voltages:

Image

Alternatively, such fireplaces can also be controlled by an iOS/Android app, using an optional and costly Wi-Fi module. Then, one can use what DRU calls the ECO WAVE function: flames progressively grow then decline, repeatedly, in a dynamic way that stabilizes the ambient temperature in the room and lowers gas consumption as well, enabling energy savings, instead of having to manually put the flames on lowest height.

Alas, according to the table above, it seems that when controlling the burner with a home automation system (using a 0-3V signal instead of a smartphone app), there is no voltage value or range corresponding to the varying "Eco-Wave" function.

My question is then: Z-Uno offers a 0-3 volts digital output. Can it be programmed to produce a smooth time-varying signal incrementing from, say, 0.2V to 1.45V over 10 seconds, then decreasing again slowly down to 0.2V, and so on? I think this is possible, but I have no experience with Arduino programming. How could it be done?

Image
User avatar
PoltoS
Posts: 7565
Joined: 26 Jan 2011 19:36

Re: Gas fireplace control with 0-3V signal

Post by PoltoS »

Z-Uno has pure digital outputs, so it gives 0 or 3V only.

What you need is a DAC.

But there is a trick. You can use Z-Uno FastPWM (pwm0) pin and attach a capacitor to smoother this PWM signal. This will give a very good analog signal in range of 0-3 V. This is how Shield is doing analog output.
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