AMS AS3935 Franklin Lightning Sensor¶
The AS3935 sensor platform allows you to use your AS3935 sensor (AliExpress, AMS_AS3935) in order to get notified when a thunderstorm is getting close.
The AS3935 can detect the presence of lightning activity and provide an estimation on the distance to the head of the storm. The chip issues a notification through an interrupt pin.
Component/Hub¶
The AS3935 can be configured to use either the SPI or I²C protocol for data communication. First choose which communication method you want to use for the sensor, set the SI pin for the appropriate level and set up the ESPHome component for the chosen communication method.
Module Pins¶
Module Pin |
Description |
---|---|
VCC/VDD |
Positive supply voltage |
GND |
Ground |
SCL |
I²C clock bus or SPI clock bus (according to SI setting) |
MOSI |
I²C data bus or SPI data input bus (according to SI setting) |
MISO |
SPI data output bus |
CS |
Chip Select (active low) |
SI |
Select Interface (GND → SPI or VDD → I²C) |
IRQ |
Interrupt (out) |
EN_V |
Voltage Regulator Enable |
A0 |
I²C address selection LSB |
A1 |
I²C address selection MSB |
Over SPI¶
The as3935_spi
sensor platform allows you to use your AS3935 sensor
(AliExpress, AMS_AS3935) in order to get notified when a thunderstorm is getting close.
# Example configuration for SPI
as3935_spi:
cs_pin: GPIOXX
irq_pin: GPIOXX
Configuration variables:¶
cs_pin (Required, Pin Schema): The chip select pin.
irq_pin (Required, Pin): The IRQ pin, which indicates if a lightning strike has been detected.
indoor (Optional, boolean): Indicates if the sensor is used indoor. Defaults to
true
.noise_level (Optional, int): Noise floor level is compared to known reference voltage. If this level is exceeded the chip will issue an interrupt to the IRQ pin, broadcasting that it can not operate properly due to noise (INT_NH). Defaults to
2
.spike_rejection (Optional, int): Helps to differentiate between false events and actual lightning. Increasing this value increases robustness at the cost of sensitivity to distant events. Defaults to
2
.lightning_threshold (Optional, int): The number of lightnings that must appear in a 15-minute time window before a lightning storm is detected. 15 minutes is the window of time before the number of detected lightning events is reset. The number of lightning strikes can be set to 1,5,9, or 16. Defaults to
1
.mask_disturber (Optional, boolean): This setting will return whether or not disturbers trigger the IRQ Pin. Defaults to
false
.div_ratio (Optional, int): The antenna is designed to resonate at 500kHz and so can be tuned with the following setting. The accuracy of the antenna must be within 3.5 percent of that value for proper signal validation and distance estimation. Defaults to
0
.capacitance (Optional, int): This setting will add capacitance to the series RLC antenna on the product to help tune its resonance. The datasheet specifies being within 3.5 percent of 500kHz to get optimal lightning detection and distance sensing. It’s possible to add up to 120pF in steps of 8pF to the antenna. Defaults to
0
.watchdog_threshold (Optional, int): Determines the threshold for events that trigger the IRQ pin. Defaults to
2
.tune_antenna (Optional, boolean): Start sensor in antenna tuning mode. It will emit oscillator frequency to be read on the INT pin. Please follow AS3935 documentation. Note that while this mode is enabled, lightings will not be detected. It should be used for initial calibration only, in order to determine correct value of
capacitance
and/ordiv_ratio
parameters. Defaults toFalse
.calibration (Optional, boolean): Enable/disable oscillator calibration on startup. It is recommended to perform antenna tuning procedure first and adjust parameters, so that RLC antenna resonance is tuned within optimal range. Defaults to
True
.
Over I²C¶
The as3935_i2c
sensor platform allows you to use your AS3935 sensor
(AliExpress, AMS_AS3935) in order to get notified when a thunderstorm is getting close.
# Example configuration for I²C
as3935_i2c:
irq_pin: GPIOXX
Configuration variables:¶
address (Optional, int): Manually specify the I²C address of the sensor. Defaults to
0x03
(A0
andA1
pins pulled high). The address is made up using the state ofA0
as bit 1 and the state ofA1
as bit 2, so a total of four addresses is possible.irq_pin (Required, Pin): The IRQ pin, which indicates if a lightning strike has been detected.
indoor (Optional, boolean): Indicates if the sensor is used indoor. Defaults to
true
.noise_level (Optional, int): Noise floor level is compared to known reference voltage. If this level is exceeded the chip will issue an interrupt to the IRQ pin, broadcasting that it can not operate properly due to noise (INT_NH). Defaults to
2
.spike_rejection (Optional, int): Helps to differentiate between false events and actual lightning. Increasing this value increases robustness at the cost of sensitivity to distant events. Defaults to
2
.lightning_threshold (Optional, int): The number of lightnings that must appear in a 15-minute time window before a lightning storm is detected. 15 minutes is the window of time before the number of detected lightning events is reset. The number of lightning strikes can be set to 1,5,9, or 16. Defaults to
1
.mask_disturber (Optional, boolean): This setting will return whether or not disturbers trigger the IRQ Pin. Defaults to
false
.div_ratio (Optional, int): The antenna is designed to resonate at 500kHz and so can be tuned with the following setting. The accuracy of the antenna must be within 3.5 percent of that value for proper signal validation and distance estimation. Defaults to
0
.capacitance (Optional, int): This setting will add capacitance to the series RLC antenna on the product to help tune its resonance. The datasheet specifies being within 3.5 percent of 500kHz to get optimal lightning detection and distance sensing. It’s possible to add up to 120pF in steps of 8pF to the antenna. Defaults to
0
.watchdog_threshold (Optional, int): Determines the threshold for events that trigger the IRQ pin. Defaults to
2
.tune_antenna (Optional, boolean): Start sensor in antenna tuning mode. It will emit oscillator frequency to be read on the INT pin. Please follow AS3935 documentation. Note that while this mode is enabled, lightings will not be detected. It should be used for initial calibration only, in order to determine correct value of
capacitance
and/ordiv_ratio
parameters. Defaults toFalse
.calibration (Optional, boolean): Enable/disable oscillator calibration on startup. It is recommended to perform antenna tuning procedure first and adjust parameters, so that RLC antenna resonance is tuned within optimal range. Defaults to
True
.
Sensor¶
A sensor platform to read lightning data
sensor:
- platform: as3935
lightning_energy:
name: Lightning Energy
distance:
name: Distance Storm
Configuration variables:
lightning_energy (Optional): Lightning energy value. According to the datasheet this is only a pure value that doesn’t have any physical meaning. All options from Sensor.
distance (Optional): Distance in km to the front of the storm and not the distance to a lightning strike. All options from Sensor.
Binary Sensor¶
Binary sensor that indicates if a lightning strike was detected.
# Example storm alert binary sensor
binary_sensor:
- platform: as3935
name: Storm Alert
Configuration variables:
All options from Binary Sensor.