What is lighting contactor

Used if a remote "all lights on" facility is wanted. Hi Clintrose1 Assuming you are qualified and competent to use electricity safely, either get a second hand contactor or buy a new one They are not usually cheap- especially for the larger ones and play with it.

A2 is for the neutral. De-energise the coil and the contacts will open. Foffer Posts: 61 Joined: 30 July A normal use for a contactor is to be able to switch a large load with a small switch. E a standard 10A switch could be used to turn on a 15kW motor using a contactor.

It is an electrically operated mechanical switch where there doesn't have to be any connection between the switch circuit and the load circuit. Zoomup Posts: Joined: 20 February A short American video about contactors. Some coils can be rated for A. Have a look at manufacturers' catalogues for more details.

It is also possible that your contactor is "Normally closed" i. I have used these successfully twice, Once, at an Opera House, the designer wanted a single switch by the final exit door to operate all the stair, corridor and toilet lights - about 30 circuits from 20 Dist Boards. Use a screwdriver to mount and screw the contactor into the service box. Use a screwdriver to loosen the terminal screws on the mounted contactor.

There are a total of six terminals on lighting contactors; two for low voltages and four for high voltage. Connect the wire from the switch to one of the low voltage terminals of the transformer.

Join another wire from the second low voltage terminal of the transformer to one of the control terminals of the contactor. Take the second wire from the switch and insert it into the second control slot on the contactor. Select desired components to meet the exact needs of your application for ease of configuration. On-site configuration enables customers to quickly convert and adapt products to changing application needs.

Components can be stocked rather than stocking already assembled contactors, freeing up space and reducing inventory. Loading Content.. Please wait! First Name. Mariana Isls. In addition, these electrical devices come in varying sizes, from hand-held dimensions to sizes measuring a meter or yard on one side approximately. The most common application area of the contactor is high-current load. Contactors are known for their capability to handle currents of over amperes and high power over kW.

Heavy motor currents produce arcs when being interrupted. These arcs can be reduced and controlled using a contactor. Operating Principle of a Contactor: The current passing through the contactor excites the electromagnet.

The excited electromagnet produces a magnetic field, causing the contactor core to move the armature. A normally closed NC contact completes the circuit between the fixed contacts and the moving contacts. This permits the current to pass through these contacts to the load.

When current is removed, the coil is de-energized and opens the circuit. The contacts of the contactors are known for their rapid open and close action. It was probably the first ever contactor that was used to control start or stop electric motors. The switch consisted of a metal strip, which would drop onto a contact. This switch had a lever for pulling the switch down or pushing it up.

Back then, one had to level the knife blade switch into the closed position by standing next to it. However, there was a problem with this method of switching. This method caused the contacts to wear out quickly, since it was difficult to manually open and close the switch fast enough to avoid arcing.

As a result of this, the soft copper switches underwent corrosion, which further made them vulnerable to moisture and dirt. Over the years, the size of the motors increased which further created the need for larger currents to operate them. This created potential physical danger to operate such high current carrying switches, thus leading to a serious safety concern. Since the knife blade switch became potentially dangerous to use, engineers came up with another contactor device, which offered a number of features that were missing in the knife blade switch.

This device was referred to as a manual controller. These features included:. As their name implies, double break contacts can open the circuit in two places at the same time. Thus, even in smaller space, it allows you to work with more current. Double break contacts divide the connection in such a way that it forms two sets of contacts. The switch or button of the manual controller is not operated remotely and is attached to the controller physically. The power circuit is engaged once the manual controller is activated by an operator.

Once activated, it carries the electricity to the load. Soon, manual contactors replaced knife blade switches completely, and even today different variations of these types of contactors are being used.

The magnetic contactor does not require human intervention and operates electromechanically.