Adafruit INA219 High-Side 26V ±3.2A DC Current Sensor Breakout - STEMMA QT

Overview

Measuring voltage and current accurately in live circuits is often harder than it should be. Most low-cost current sensors rely on low-side sensing, which shifts the ground reference and can introduce instability—especially in sensitive electronics. The Adafruit INA219 High-Side Current Sensor Breakout eliminates this problem by allowing you to measure current and voltage on the high side of the load, without disturbing system ground.

This breakout is built around the INA219, a precision current and power monitor that communicates over I2C. It measures the voltage drop across an onboard 0.1 Ω, 1% precision shunt resistor, placed between the power source and the load. Because the measurement happens on the high side, your circuit ground remains fixed and reliable, even as current draw changes.

Despite being powered from just 3–5 V, the INA219 can monitor bus voltages as high as +26 V, making it ideal for tracking battery systems, solar panels, motor drivers, and embedded power consumption. In addition to current, the chip also reports the high-side voltage, allowing you to calculate power usage and monitor supply health in real time.

A built-in precision amplifier measures differential voltages up to ±320 mV, which translates to a maximum measurable current of ±3.2 A with the onboard shunt resistor. The internal 12-bit ADC provides a current resolution of 0.8 mA at the full ±3.2 A range. By configuring the internal gain, you can reduce the measurement range to increase resolution—for example, measuring up to ±400 mA with 0.1 mA resolution. Advanced users can further customize the range by replacing the shunt resistor to suit higher current applications.

Specification

Technical details for Adafruit INA219 High-Side 26V ±3.2A DC Current Sensor Breakout.

Pinout