Using an Arduino as a electrical mains switch

Question

How do I make an electrical switch using Arduino, that when it receives signal (wirelessly or through a LAN port) to switch off it disconnects the switch and then again told to turn on turns the switch on?

The main problem I am facing is that I need to give a 5V output to turn off the transmission between two wires having voltage rating of 230V.

• Majenko: Google the phrase "Arduino Relay"
• Aircraft: Relays are the only solution which you are looking for.!
• Greenonline: You need two shields: a Network (i.e. Ethernet/Wi-Fi/GSM/3G) shield, and (as already mentioned); a Relay shield. Plus, some code to glue the two together. See Ethernet Switching - with Arduino for an example of how to do it.
• Chris Stratton: Depending on the nature of your load and how you need to switch it, the type of electronically controlled switching device you should use will vary. A cheap mechanical relay module can indeed be a simple solution for low-current devices switched at a no more than moderate rate, but if you have something high current like a heating element, inductive like a large motor, or need to do duty-cycle based control, you will need a different sort of switching element, perhaps TRIAC-based, but likely requiring a fair amount of surrounding circuitry for safety and longevity.

Answer 1

You need to use Relays. There all kind of relays.

Regular and Solid state ... for controlling a Regular Relay using Arduino you will need a transistor (so you will able to provide the right current to the relay to close a circle)

There are a lot of guides for Arduino and Relays (for example)

Answer 2

As pointed out in the comments, I would need to use something known as a relay with my Arduino.