How to Use a Relay with a Raspberry Pi

Add an electrically-operated switch to your Pi!
John John (304)
20 minutes

A relay is an electrically-operated switch. These switches can be extremely useful for a variety of Raspberry Pi projects (think turning on a light or opening your garage door. Watch the video below to learn how to drive a relay using your Raspberry Pi.

Raspberry PiRaspberry Pi ×1
SainSmart 2-channel Relay Module ×1

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The following video will show you how to wire up the relay to your Raspberry Pi.

Watch the video:

Here's a copy of the test script used in the video:

#!/usr/bin/env python

import time

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO


GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
GPIO.setup(17, GPIO.OUT)
GPIO.output(17, GPIO.LOW)

time.sleep(0.25)

GPIO.output(17, GPIO.HIGH)
GPIO.cleanup()

To run the script, simply copy the code above to a file on your Raspberry Pi called test-relay.py (or whatever you want). And then run the script using:

python test-relay.py
Everything you need to start your smart alarm clock project!
Ash Ash (362)
1 hour

If you don't know what time it is—this is the project for you! In this guide, I'll be covering all the basics you need to start your Raspberry Pi smart alarm clock project.