Ask Electronics

3327 readers

49 users here now

For questions about component-level electronic circuits, tools and equipment.

Rules

1: Be nice.

2: Be on-topic (eg: Electronic, not electrical).

3: No commercial stuff, buying, selling or valuations.

4: Be safe.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Continuous operation of a general purpose relay? (midwest.social)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

17 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hello, I have a circuit that will need to return connected hardware to a default state if power is lost. The hardware can handle continuous voltage, so I'm thinking a simple solution would be to use a battery to provide that fallback power source. To avoid draining the battery, I'd like to connect it through a relay on the normally open contact and energize the relay directly from the main power supply on my board.

Do I need to look for anything in particular to make sure the coil on the relay I choose can sustain constant voltage for potentially months at a time without damage? Or, is there another similarly low cost and simple solution you'd recommend?

The circuit runs on 12VDC from a [Mean Well IRM-10-12 (specification), and the relays I have on hand are OMRON G5LE-14-CF 12VDC (specification). I don't see anything on the relay documentation that specifies a maximum duty cycle.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

the switching current refers to the amperage across the terminals other than the coil

Yes. "Switching current" is the load current being controlled across the main contacts. I figured you were well within specs, I was just clarifying what typically limits relay duty cycle other than the coil.

Is there a rule of thumb for the minimum current I should allow across the coil?

Stick to the rated coil voltage in the datasheet or below and you'll be fine. They set the coil resistance to be within the safe current zone per V=IR at rated control voltage.

Many relays can reliably switch well underneath their rated control voltage depending on their design- there's a lot of safety factor built in. I've had some 12v automotive relays switch successfully at around 5v (by accident, lol). Experiment a bit and you may be able to cut down on waste power

Just be aware that control voltage (coil) and rated switching voltage (load) is often different, since many relays use low control voltages to switch high voltage loads. Don't confuse the two!