Datasheet

Overview

The INA219B breakout board will solve all your power-monitoring problems. Instead of struggling with two multimeters,

you can use this breakout to measure both the high side voltage and DC current draw over I2C with 1% precision.

Why the High Side?

Most current-measuring devices such as our current panel meter are only good for

low side

measuring. That means

that unless you want to get a battery involved, you have to stick the measurement resistor between the target ground

and true ground.

Since the voltage drop across the resistor is proportional to the current draw, this means that the ground reference will

change with varying current. Having a shifting ground reference can cause problems for many circuits.

The INA219B chip is much smarter - it can handle high side current measuring, up to +26VDC, even though it is

powered with 3 or 5V. It will also report back that high side voltage, which is great for tracking battery life or solar

panels.

How does it work?

A precision amplifier measures the voltage across the 0.1 ohm, 1% sense resistor. Since the amplifier maximum input

difference is ±320mV this means it can measure up to ±3.2 Amps. With the internal 12 bit ADC, the resolution at ±3.2A

range is 0.8mA. With the internal gain set at the minimum of div8, the max current is ±400mA and the resolution is

0.1mA. Advanced hackers can remove the 0.1 ohm current sense resistor and replace it with their own to change the

range (say a 0.01 ohm to measure up 32 Amps with a resolution of 8mA)

Note that when switching inductive loads, the instantaneous voltage levels may greatly exceed steady-state

levels due to inductive kickback. Chip damage can occur if you do not take precautions to protect against