I agree (as I said in post #2) - but I accept that people vary in their sensitivities, and it for them, not us, to decide what they want.
Kind Regards, John
Quiet Relay
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Kind Regards, John
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That's true - but it is the OP who has something virtually no one else has and who doesn't like it.
Solution ???
Solution ???
What the OP is trying to achieve, I suppose - i.e. find a way of having functionality "which virtually no-one else has" but in a way that he does like.
Technologically, that is clearly attainable - solid state 'relays' do exist, and are silent. It's only the implementation which is the issue.
Kind Regards, John
Scroll down this link https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/24-v-ssr-replacement-for-classic-relay.115724/ and you might find what you're looking for.
But if your method of finding out what's inside a relay is anything to go by then I don't give much hope for your chances
But if your method of finding out what's inside a relay is anything to go by then I don't give much hope for your chances
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Nothing like a torrent of extra advice when asking a simple question
I'm sure you could have found far more appropriate threads about which to make that commentNothing like a torrent of extra advice when asking a simple question
.In this thread, other than BAS's questioning of why someone would want PIR-controlled lights in their kitchen, virtually all of the other posts have been (rather unusually!) more-or-less related to the OP's question!
Kind Regards, John
And as I suspect he hasn't a scooby, I'll spell it out for him :
- Cost
- Ease of design
- Cost
- Reliability/robustness
- Cost
- And did I mention cost ?
And then semiconductor switches are relatively fragile. Have a bulb blow (or the installer gets something wrong in the wiring) and a relay will most likely survive when the fault current is enough to rapidly trip a B6 MCB. Unless the semiconductor switch is "vastly oversized" (and hence more expensive and larger) then it won't survive that. There's a reason that some switching devices have to be protected by "semiconductor fuses" which are designed to blow very rapidly.
As to why fit a PIR, well there are some advantages. It is quite convenient having the lights "just come on" when your hands are full, or knowing that they'll turn themselves off if your hands are full when you leave.
And I suppose it's one way of preventing kids from just leaving the lights on all the time.
But, the house we've recently moved into has one in the kitchen - I'll be removing it when I get round to it as it's more of a nuisance than a help. If we leave the wall switch on, then the lights are on a lot thanks to the cat and dog. If we switch off at the wall, then there's an annoying delay at switch on before the PIR turns on - then it turns off again after another short delay, and then it won't trigger from movement for a few seconds
In addition to cost, cost, cost, cost, simplicity of design and robustness, I suspect that bernard may also have been thinking of the fact that, for an application in which the switched load will usually be lighting, and given the increasing prevalence of CFLs and, particularly, LEDs, a cheap old-fashioned relay will avoid many of the problems which can sometimes arise when switching these new-fangled lighting loads with 'electronics'.
Indeed - many (most?) of us have 'been there', and the removal is often expedited by the desire not to pull out any more hair or having to put a fortune into the 'swear box'But, the house we've recently moved into has one in the kitchen - I'll be removing it when I get round to it as it's more of a nuisance than a help. If we leave the wall switch on, then the lights are on a lot thanks to the cat and dog. If we switch off at the wall, then there's an annoying delay at switch on before the PIR turns on - then it turns off again after another short delay, and then it won't trigger from movement for a few seconds
Kind Regards, John
A perfectly valid question which somebody had to ask.
As you can probably tell from my most recent post (and things I've written in the past), I'm not disagreeing with that.
Kind Regards, John
I don't think there are any problems in this application. We're talking about a device with both permanent live and neutral connections - so it doesn't have to be powered through the load which is the normal stumbling point. So a simple triac or thyristor+bridge (and trigger circuit) will reliably switch those loads - trigger on, triac on, load on; trigger off, triac off, load off. It's fairly basic electronics.
Hmmm. Does capacitive coupling count as "fairly basic electronics"?
I agree that things get even worse when one is reliant on current through the load to power the electronics, but the flashing or glimmering of 'switched off' LEDs can sometimes occur, presumably due to stray coupling (usually capacitative, but theoretically could be inductive) coupling, even with mechanical contacts (as in switches or relays) (as per my recent thread), so I suspect that the risk would be even greater with solid state switching. However, as always, I could be wrong.
Kind Regards, John
OOI, in your life, just how often, when it is already dark, do you walk into your kitchen with your hands full and be unable to either work a light switch or see well enough from lighting in the vicinity to be able to empty your hands and turn the lights on?
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The model number of my relay is "ES-T73-24VDC" and the closet match I could find online was the T73 series from Tyco Electronics. All I know is that it has a rating of 10A 28VDC / 250VAC and 15A 125VAC as shown in the photo below:
Since I couldn't find a SSR of similar specification and realising that a SSR would cost more than the motion sensor itself I decided to simply remove the plastic casing entirely and muffle the sound the best I could.
After placing some insulating tape between the coil and armature, top contact and armature and finally wrapping the whole thing in insulating tape I managed to dampen it enough not to annoy me.
Since I couldn't find a SSR of similar specification and realising that a SSR would cost more than the motion sensor itself I decided to simply remove the plastic casing entirely and muffle the sound the best I could.
After placing some insulating tape between the coil and armature, top contact and armature and finally wrapping the whole thing in insulating tape I managed to dampen it enough not to annoy me.
I am sorry if you did not immediately understand part of a sentence specifying the advantages of a certain action.
Constructing a single sentence relating to just that one advantage might read :-
"If you replace the PIR Switch then any guarantees (that) you now have would not be voided."
(I previously left out the word "that". It was late at night.)
However, he has already voided any such guarantees by "opening-up" the relay.
At least you are not disagreeing with the context of my comments !
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