What Are Relay Switches Used For

The terminal widths used on 4 and 5 pin relays are almost always 6 3mm wide however some more specialist relays can have terminal widths of 2 8mm 4 8mm and 9 5mm.

What are relay switches used for.

Relays are either electromechanical relays or solid state relays. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by an independent low power signal. A relay is an electrically operated switch it consists of a set of input terminals for a single or multiple control signals and a set of operating contact terminals the switch may have any number of contacts in multiple contact forms such as make contacts break contacts or combinations thereof. Used to control the electric motor switches.

In those cases a relay can be used. In electromechanical relays emr contacts are opened or closed by a magnetic force. Microprocessors use relays to control a heavy electrical load. In fact some of the first computers ever built used relays to implement boolean gates.

Relays are normally used in the control panels manufacturing and building automation to control the power along with switching the smaller current values in a control circuit. To turn on an electric motor we need 230v ac supply but in few cases applications there may be a situation to switch on the motor with a dc supply voltage. With solid state relays ssr there are no contacts and switching is totally electronic. Here are two simple animations illustrating how relays use one circuit to switch on a second circuit.

The decision to use electromechanical or solid state relays depends on an application s electrical requirements cost constraints and life expectancy. Relays are found hidden in all sorts of devices. In this article we will look at how relays work and a few of their applications. Overload relays are used for protection of motor from overload electrical failure.

They are also used as automatic change over. Relays are used for isolating a low voltage circuit from high voltage circuit. This sample demonstrates how a 3 way light switch can be used to activate a light. Automatic stabilizers are one of its applications where a relay is used.

When power flows through the first circuit 1 it activates the electromagnet brown generating a magnetic field blue that attracts a contact red and activates the second circuit 2. A relay is a simple electromechanical switch made up of an electromagnet and a set of contacts. A 3 way light switch is often found in your house where two light switches can be used to activate a single light. The circuit that powers the electromagnet s coil is completely separate from the circuit that is switched on or off by the relay s switch so it s possible to use a relay whose coil requires just a few volts to turn a line voltage circuit on or off.

However the supply of amplifying effect can help control the large amperes and voltages because if low voltage is applied to the relay coil a large voltage can be switched by the contacts. This sample is exactly the same as a 3 way light switch the only difference being each physical switch is replaced by a relay.