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Switching an AC load with an Arduino is rather simpel: either a mechanical relay or a solid state relay with an optically isolated Triac. (I say Arduino, but if you use an 8051 or PIC16F877A microcontroller, there is stuff for you too here.) It becomes a bit more tricky if one wants to dim a mains AC lamp with an arduino: just limiting the current through e.g. a transistor is not really possible due to the large power the transistor then will need to dissipate, resulting in much heat and it is also not efficient from an energy use point of view.”

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