A Closer Look at the Applications of Electronic Contactor Through Eurotherm

Posted by michaelalbert on June 12th, 2017

Electricity flows to different electronic equipment through circuits. These circuits are crucial to maintain or break the flow of current, i.e, to start or stop a function. To achieve this task of starting or stopping the flow of power, electromagnetic switches are used to switch on or off electrical circuits. The switches used in most common circuits are either relays or contactors depending upon the amount of current required.

Relay is used for low voltage applications. It basically controls certain parts of a circuit. For instance, if you wish to blow your horn when the need arrives, the relay, as set up in the circuit, will either open or close and the horn will start making sound when you trigger it.

Contactors, work on the same principle, however are used in high-voltage applications. Therefore, in simpler terms, a contactor is a special type of relay that comes into picture when the current carrying capacity needs to be more. It is used to switch a large amount of electrical power through its contacts. This is called operating power, measured in KW (kilowatt). They are designed for industrial purposes and one can commonly find them placed in control panels of industrial motors or other heavy loads.

Contactors are used to control electric motors, lighting, heating, capacitor banks, thermal evaporators, and other electrical loads. Since they carry large amount of  current, contactors usually have overload protection to check overflow of current in order to avoid any faults. One of the common contactors preferred for heavy industrial uses is Eurotherm Eswitch. It is a perfect replacement for mechanical contactors that add to your operational costs.

What makes Eurotherm Eswitch a better choice than its mechanical counterparts?

- Mechanical contactors have a lifetime of about 1 to 3 years, and operate about three million times every year. This is why they need to be replaced more often which leads to poor long term returns.

- Mechanical contactors are more costly as compared to mechanical ones and needs to be manually controlled.
- Life expectancy of an Eswitch is superior as the contact is electronic. It features simple wiring and mounting.
- It has a front face LED that improves the operation experience while performing diagnostics and commissioning.

Applications
Some of the common applications of an electronic contactor include : To provide central control of large lighting installations, such as an office building or retail building; used in industrial heaters to give faster on/off cycle times. Besides the Eswitch, Eurotherm 7EM and Eurotherm 7ERR other commonly used electronic devices for better stability in circuits.

Author’s Bio : The author is an avid blogger. This article is about the applications of an electronic contactor.