The festive tradition of decorating homes with colorful lights during Christmas, often known as the “Festival of Lights,” is widely practiced. Have you ever contemplated crafting your own custom Christmas lights for adorning your home or a special area within it? This straightforward circuit tutorial will lead you through the journey of crafting your own charming lights.
One notable advantage of these circuits is the convenience they offer by eliminating the need for manual switching. These lights automatically activate at dusk and deactivate at dawn, thereby conserving energy and reducing your electricity expenses when you’re away from home.
Christmas Lights using LEDs Circuit Diagram:
Components used in this Circuit:
- IC
- CD4093 – 1
- Resistor
- R1 (1K) – 1
- R2 (10K) – 1
- R3 (100K) – 1
- R4 (100E) – 1
- VR1 (100K) – 1
- C1 (22uf) – 1
- T1 (BC547) – 1
- LDR – 1
- D1 (1N4148) – 1
- LED – 6
Component Description:
LDR – The sensitivity of the Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) depends on the level of light it receives. When light intensity decreases, the resistance of the LDR increases, and conversely, it decreases as light intensity increases.
LED – A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light in various colors.
The IC CD4093 comprises four Schmitt-trigger circuits, each of which operates as a NAND gate with Schmitt trigger functionality on both inputs. The gate changes its state at different thresholds for positive and negative signal transitions.
LED Christmas Lights Circuit Description:
The core component of this circuit is the CD4093 IC, which serves as a Schmitt trigger quad NAND gate with two input terminals. This circuit encompasses various elements, including LEDs, a sensor, and additional components like transistors, diodes, and resistors.
The CD4093 IC is enclosed in a 14-pin Dual Inline Package (DIP), with Pin 1 being identifiable by a small notch on one face of the IC. Within a single chip, it houses four autonomous NAND gates, each featuring two input terminals and a dedicated output terminal. These ICs operate within a voltage range of 5V to 15V.
This IC is available in a 14-pin DIP format. At a 12V voltage level, it can handle an average current of approximately 10 mA, although this can be reduced by lowering the voltage.
To connect the battery or power supply, Pins 14 and 7 of the 14-pin package are utilized. Pin 7 connects to the negative terminal, while pin 14 connects to the power supply. Given that we knew there were four gates, we’ve designated them as NI1, NI2, NI3, and NI4. For the first gate, NI1, Pins 1 and 2 serve as inputs, while Pin 3 functions as the output. The circuit schematic depicted below illustrates this arrangement. The output transitions to a low state when all input terminals are in a high state; otherwise, a high output is obtained. This behavior aligns with the truth table provided below.
The entire circuit is split into two sections: one dedicated to the light sensor and the other to the LED flashing mechanism. The light sensor component of the circuit comprises two transistors, T1 and T2, along with an LDR. During daylight hours, the LDR exhibits low light resistance, allowing transistor T1 to conduct. Consequently, the voltage across transistor T2 drops to a low level, placing it in a cutoff state. Consequently, the LED connected to the output point remains unlit throughout the day. At nighttime, when there’s no light, the LDR’s resistance increases significantly. This change causes T1 to cease conducting, while T2 begins conduction, resulting in the illumination of the attached LED.
The LED flashing circuit, on the other hand, is centered around the CD4093 IC, configured in oscillator mode. The oscillation component relies on resistor R2 and capacitor C1. The flashing effect is achieved by diode D1 in conjunction with resistor R3, causing rapid changes in the voltage across capacitor C1. Consequently, when the capacitor C1 charges to half of the power supply voltage, the output at pin 3 of IC1 drops, and C1 discharges. Pin 3 is connected to pins 5 and 6, initiating another cycle of charging for capacitor C1, as depicted in the circuit diagram. This cycle continues until power is disconnected from the circuit.
To modify the LED flashing rate, you can adjust the values of resistor R2 and capacitor C1. Lowering the value of capacitor C2 can make the flashing more pronounced, while decreasing the rate involves reducing the capacitor’s value. A variable resistor is all that’s needed to fine-tune the sensitivity of the LDR within the circuit.
