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For context, my first board would contain a motor circuit with an L298N motor driver while my second contains a controlled heating system that uses 2 relays with PTC heating elements, DHT11 sensor, I2C LCD display, and 1 12V exhaust fan.

My input would be a 12V DC power adapter and I'm going to use it to run the motor, the fan, and the 2 heating elements.

Since I want to minimize the chances of my boards from overheating, I want to reduce the input voltage for my board to around 7V, so I want to integrate a voltage regulator circuit.

Should I include 2 voltage regulator circuits or should just utilize 1 for both boards?

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  • The Uno already has a voltage regulator. Can you clarify (perhaps with a diagram) what you are trying to do exactly? Commented Jun 9, 2023 at 6:24
  • I dont want to overheat my arduino boards and I've heard from a few sources 12V could potential do that even thought its within range Commented Jun 9, 2023 at 7:17
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    Nick and st2000, OP writes in the question "I want to reduce the input voltage for my board to around 7V, so I want to integrate a voltage regulator circuit" (and it was not edited) Commented Jun 10, 2023 at 4:36
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    the Q is "Should I include 2 voltage regulator circuits or should just utilize 1 for both boards?" and the answers is 1 or 0 Commented Jun 10, 2023 at 4:46
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    but why 12 to 7 and then 7 to 5? use a 12 V to 5 V converter and power the boards over the 5 V pin or USB connector. Commented Jun 10, 2023 at 5:09

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If you want an external voltage regulator, one should be plenty. In that case I would regulate down to 5V (not 7V) and connect that to the 5V pin on the board.

An alternative might be to just run the 12V from the battery through a diode or two, thus dropping 0.7V for each diode. Use a diode that can handle a reasonable amount of current, eg. 1N4004. Then you would still connect it to the normal "power input" socket (not the 5V pin).

I assume that the heating, motors, etc., are not being powered by the Arduino board, but directly from the battery via some sort of switching, like a MOSFET or a relay.

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I would use a buck or SEPIC regulator and feed Vin on each of the Arduino with about 7.5V from the one regulator. I prefer using Vin because of the additional filtering I get. Also be sure you are using appropriate drivers for your loads, such as relays or MOSFETs.

Consider replacing the L298N with a newer part, that will lose about 3V on the motor leads which is burnt up as heat in the device. There are many others that use MOSFET outputs which will drop less them 0.2 volts.

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