Touch light switch: why is it needed, types, marking, selection and connection

Sealed

A special type of switches - hermetic switches designed for installation in rooms with high humidity or dust: in baths, saunas, showers. Also, like waterproof sockets, they are classified according to the degree of protection. So, a switch that is installed in a bathroom or shower must have a protection class of at least IP-44. Read more about protection classes in our article.

11. Switch with built-in motion sensor

As the name implies, the switch, or rather, the sensor connected to it, reacts to movements: the light turns on when a person is in the field of view of the sensor, and turns off when that person disappears from it. Most often, the principle of operation of such sensors is based on tracking infrared radiation.

Switches with built-in motion sensors save energy. With the help of them, you can also adjust the intensity of lighting, turn on spotlights, a siren, CCTV cameras and control other useful equipment. Unfortunately, the price of these super-mechanisms is appropriate.

Helpful Hints

• For the bathroom and kitchen, use sealed switches with a moisture and dust protection class of at least IP - 44
• Rope switches will harmoniously fit into the nursery: the baby can easily reach the cord and be able to quickly turn on the light in the dark if he suddenly has a bad dream at night
• For the living room, dimmers are best, as watching TV and reading a book require different amounts of light.
• For your convenience, flights of stairs in a private house should be equipped with either walk-through switches or switches with built-in motion sensors

Attaching wiring to switch terminals

For installation in domestic lighting systems, only two types of wiring fastenings to switch contacts are used - screw and screwless.

A screw connection is a standard, more familiar, habitual method of fastening when a wire is inserted into a terminal, which is attracted to the base with a bolt.This method of fastening has one drawback - under the influence of an electric current, all conductors vibrate a little, so over time such a connection may weaken, especially if the core is stranded.

A screwless connection is essentially a spring clip - into which the wire is inserted and then fixed. The shape of the clamp prevents spontaneous loss of the core inserted into it, and the spring levels out the vibrations caused by the current, so this connection does not need periodic tightening of the contacts.

The disadvantages of screwless connections include the small area of ​​contact between the wire and the clamp and the fact that they are not designed to connect aluminum wires.

In practice, there is not much difference between the use of certain switches, since modern lighting devices have low power. Therefore, the current through the terminals is small and does not have a noticeable effect on either the bolted connections or the clamps.

Additional functions and types of touch switches

Touch switches are widely used in the installation of smart home circuits. But they can also be installed in the usual. For greater convenience, many touch switches have a remote control with which you can remotely control not only one, but also several touch switches of the same type.

Often, touch switches are additionally equipped with sensors for temperature, light, movement, etc. Switches with are the most common option that eliminates the discomfort when entering an empty apartment at night.

It is advisable to use touch switches with temperature sensors when, in addition to lighting devices, an electric fireplace is also connected to the device. Switches with light sensors are often used for street lamps in the area near the house, as well as for the perimeter security lighting system.

Like conventional switches, touch devices can be installed for one or more consumers with separate control of their operation. So, by installing a touch switch for a multi-lamp chandelier, you can control each lamp individually or, if desired, mount the circuit so that the lamps turn on in groups.

A characteristic feature of the operation of touch switches is the ability to smoothly turn on lighting or other electrical appliances, as well as control the power of each of them using a touch panel or remote control.

Master button of touch switches

The master button, in fact, is an additional function of touch switches designed for several consumers. When it is turned on (via the panel or remote control), all electrical appliances connected to the device are turned on simultaneously.

The main manufacturers of touch controls for room illumination

When buying modern electronic switches, you need to check the correctness of their work with different lighting fixtures. If the switching unit copes with LEDs and fluorescent structures, then incandescent and halogen lamps will be freely controlled by it.

Suntruth Electrical from China produces devices that are designed to replace and install them in place of outdated contact switches.They are convenient for women in the kitchen in the form of additional lighting. The convenience lies in the fact that the unit is controlled by the movement of a finger, which can be wet or dirty during cooking.

The photo of the touch switches of most companies, such as Berker, Jung, Livolo, Steinel, shows that they have abandoned the production of capacitive devices. The reorientation took place on stand-alone switches with infrared sensors operating on thermal radiation with a wavelength of up to 9 nm.

Switches of the Delta reflex model from Siemens are universal designs that can be mounted on the wall, ceiling and even outdoors. A highly sensitive pyroelectric element, divided into segments, perceives photons through an optical lens. As soon as a moving person enters the area of ​​action of the rays, a pyrodetector is activated, which generates an electrical signal. It amplifies and the switch turns on the light.

The popular German electric companies Steinel and Osram produce detectors to replace old systems and stand-alone products. The principle of operation of the sensor has an original design based on scanning objects with radiation in the optical range. When an object enters the area of ​​effect, the light turns on and vice versa.

Using the example of a Livolo product, we can consider the marking of touch devices of the VL C701R series. VL is the company name. Latin letters with the first digit C6 or C7 designate the model. A two-digit number - 01, 02, 03, indicates the number of lighting groups.The radio-controlled model is listed under the letter R; dimmer - D; through switch - S; timer T.

You can buy a touch light switch in specialized stores.

Purpose of devices

Any household electrical switch is connected to a break in the phase wire. That is, a live conductor is connected to the input and output, and the neutral wire remains intact. If both wires are connected, a short circuit will occur in the electrical wiring. For indoor lighting, different designs of devices are used, the main purpose of which is:

• opening of the electrical network;
• supply voltage to the lamp.

Typically, lighting is turned on and off manually by users. Indoor units are structurally designed to work in the electrical wiring of the house at nominal network parameters, they do not shutdown at high loads and short circuits. For this, automatic switches are installed at the entrance to the room. Their design includes:

• current releases;
• cut-off devices;
• arc extinguishing mechanisms.

Any light switches are produced for certain parameters of current and voltage. Structurally, they differ in the way of installation, connection of wires, degree of protection against dust and moisture, control method.

Most often, the wires are connected to the instrument terminals with screw terminals. Some of the latest models have spring-loaded terminal blocks that allow you to speed up the installation of electrical equipment.

Features of connecting touch switches

When connecting the sensor model, the same installation rules are used as with conventional rocker switches. Works are carried out exclusively on de-energized lines of the electrical circuit.After turning off the power supply, the old device is dismantled. Before proceeding with the installation of the touch panel, you need to wring it out of the frame. Then the wires are connected with the outputs "zero", "phase" with the corresponding terminals on the device. Next, the panel is installed in the mounting box and fixed with spacers and screws. The work is completed by fixing the frame.

Touch switch - what is it and where is it used

A touch switch is an electronic device that turns on or off the device using a touch signal - light touch, sound, movement, signal from the remote control - in the sensor's sensitivity zone. Mechanical pressing of the key, as on a conventional switch, is not required. This is the main difference between a touch switch and a conventional keyboard switch.

Such switches are used in an apartment or house, most often for the lighting system, as well as for raising blinds, curtains, opening garage doors, turning on or off household appliances, and adjusting heating systems.

Stylish appearance will decorate the interior, and ease of use will give additional comfort. Such a switch is built into the surface of an electrical appliance, for example, in a table lamp. To turn on the device, just touch it. Also, the switch sensor can be controlled by remote control, voice, react to movement, be equipped with a timer, dimmer. The timer will help save on electricity, and the dimmer will create the intensity of lighting that you need. For example, create a cozy subdued light for a romantic dinner or a relaxing evening.

The touch switch is used to save energy in places with high traffic of people. For example, in the entrance. The sensor responds to movementwhen the tenant enters the entrance and turns off after a certain time.

Such a switch can be placed in the yard of a private house to illuminate the yard if necessary. This will reduce electricity consumption.

It is possible to equip the office with touch switches, for the convenience of switching off and on the lighting, closing and raising the blinds.

Thus, the touch switch is suitable for:

• apartments;
• private house;
• office
• public places;
• house territories.

Choice of fixtures: switches vs switches

Before going to the lighting store for the necessary materials, you first need to understand the terminology and various electrical switching devices.

For most novice electricians, a switch and a switch are the same thing. However, they only look alike. According to the principle of operation, these devices differ dramatically.

Household both switches and light switches look the same and have uniform housings, but are designed for fundamentally different connection schemes

The usual "SWITCH" is the simplest key that opens / closes the electrical circuit. It has one incoming and one outgoing wire. Plus, there are two- and three-key devices with a large number of contacts. However, these are just two or three switches assembled together in a single housing.

A "SWITCH" is a switching device in which one incoming electrical circuit is switched to one of several outgoing circuits. Often, such a device is also called a "toggle switch", since it has a key for flipping contacts from one position to another.

At a minimum, in such a single-key device there are three contacts (one incoming and a pair of outgoing). If there are two keys, then there are already six terminals (a pair at the input and four at the output).

The term "THROUGH SWITCH" refers to several switches connected to each other according to a certain scheme. Such a switch is designed to turn on / off a single light source from several points at once in a room or a fenced area with lighting.

It is impossible to make a “pass-through” device out of classic switches in order to save on purchase, for this you need to use only switches

As a result, the two-contact switch is designed to break one electrical circuit with the phase through which the light bulb is powered. A three-pin switch is used to create new separate power supply circuits. The first option is needed to stop the supply of current through any circuit, and the second - to switch between circuits.

Externally, both devices look exactly the same. This is a case with one or more keys. In this case, the switch can be used in switch mode, but not vice versa. It is impossible to make a three-pin device out of a two-pin device. But to exclude the use of one of the chains is quite acceptable. But to organize light control from several points, you need to buy only switching devices with three or more contacts.

What will the label say?

Proximity switches are supplied to the market by various manufacturers. Among them are Western, domestic and Chinese companies

When buying, it is important to pay special attention to the quality of the units and the reputation of the manufacturer.

Due to the seriousness of the regulated processes, for the control of which various modifications of sensors are used, one should choose only products that have accompanying documentation - instructions with installation diagrams, operating conditions and a list of technical parameters.

On the body of the device itself, manufacturers indicate its characteristics in the form of a set of letters and numbers - they mark

Among these designations, some of the important information is encrypted, which is guided by when choosing the right model. Not all indicators can fit on a small section of the switch

Others that are relevant to the consumer are contained in the user manual

Not all indicators can fit on a small section of the switch. Others that are relevant to the consumer are contained in the user manual.

If the model you like does not have instructions in the kit, then you should not buy it - it may be a fake. Moreover, some of the required parameters will remain unknown, and you can’t take the seller’s word for it.

All manufacturers are required to provide the end user with technical specifications. This requirement is spelled out in part 5-2 of GOST on low-voltage non-contact equipment mentioned above

Each company engaged in the production of switching devices for controlling the electrical circuit has developed its own designation system. Its decoding is given in the catalog, which also contains the range of products offered.

An example of product labeling from AS Energy. The remaining parameters of the models are placed in the instructions supplied with the kit.

The need for marking arose not by chance - the variety of switches is large. In addition, they can be classified according to various principles.

For example, depending on the function performed during switching, devices are divided into the following categories:

• inclusion (NO) - A;
• shutdown (NF) - B;
• switching - C;
• programmable option - P;
• other is S.

And according to the installation method, the sensors are recessed, non-recessed and others.

Sometimes manufacturers prefer to indicate a long code that describes the maximum parameters of the product, including the location of the sensitive element, the presence of indication, climatic modification, etc.

If a company uses the marking principle recommended by GOST, then the inscription on the switch will look like this, for example:

U3 A30 A D2

Where:

• U - ultrasonic method for detecting an irritant. The rest correspond to other Latin letters: I - inductive, C - capacitive, D, R and T - photoelectric direct, reflective and barrier action, respectively;
• 3 - the installation method is different;
• A30 - shape and diameter, which in this case means cylindrical with a thread with a diameter of 30 mm;
• A is the switching function of the element, which means switching on (NO);
• D is the number of wires for DC or AC output, which corresponds to two DC connectors;
• 2 - plug-in connection.

In total, 4 combination options are provided, among which ribbon wires correspond to the unit, the two were considered above, the clamp to the three, and another method to the four.

In modifications that require a wire, the manufacturer puts the characteristics on a label that is attached directly to the cable.It can also indicate the degree of protection, recommended voltage and more.

Among bona fide manufacturers, such as CJSC Sensor / Sesor, the German company Fotoelektrik Pauly, NPK TEKO, PKF STRAUSS, CJSC Meander, the companies OWEN and SKB IS, NPP PRIZMA from Yekaterinburg and others are distinguished.

Many of them offer a service for the manufacture of WB with the parameters required by the consumer - to order.

We also recommend reading our other article, where we described in detail the different types of light switches. More details - read on.

Remote control setting for Livolo circuit breakers

Switches that support remote control in the product article have the letter R. To set up the remote control, you must program the operation of the switch with the remote control.

1. Press the sensor on the switch and hold for about 5 seconds. until a beep sounds,
2. Press a button on the remote control (for example, button A).
3. You will be informed about the completion of synchronization by a sound signal. Press A to turn on the light, press A again to turn off the light.
4. Possible programming of buttons on the remote control: A, B and C - ON / OFF, D - turn off everything.
5. For a dimmer, after synchronization of the remote control, the function of the button is as follows: A - ON, B - brightness increase, C - brightness decrease, D - OFF;

Cancel synchronization, touch the sensor and hold for 10 seconds until you hear a double beep. If you release the sensor after the first beep or after the first flash of the backlight, the synchronization will not be canceled

Video guide for synchronizing the Livolo touch switches with radio control function with the remote control:

It is possible to turn on several switches at once with one button on the remote control. For example, you need to light the way from the room to the kitchen through the corridor. Video guide on programming lighting scenes using Livolo switches with remote and remote control function will help you:

Mounting errors

To avoid errors when installing switches, observe the following rules:

Before installation, always turn off the power to prevent short circuit and damage to the device.
Install and remove the glass front panel on a de-energized mechanism.
Make sure that the front panel does not rest on one side of the wall and is strictly parallel.
Apply power to the touch switches when each line is under load.
Put the front glass panel on the switch immediately after installation so that the sensor does not collect dust.
Do not press the sensor without the panel!
If there is construction dust on the switch sensor, wipe it with a dry, clean cloth.
Be careful when working with electricity.

Now you know about the advantages of touch switches, the principles of their design and connection. Modern switches will make your home stylish and comfortable, and if properly installed and handled, will delight you for many years.

Choice by price and manufacturer

You can choose the right device according to the following criteria:

• according to the power source - a switch from a 220 V network or from a battery;
• by motion detection technology - infrared, acoustic, microwave, ultrasonic, combined;
• by viewing angle - measurement range from 90 degrees to 36 degrees;

Devices with a large viewing angle are more expensive.

• range - from 5 to 20 meters;
• switch power - depends on how many lamps will be connected to it;
• according to the method of fastening;
• availability of additional functions.

It is important to pay attention to the choice of the manufacturer. It is not recommended to buy Chinese decoctions from unknown companies. Such switches may not perform their duties and last a shorter period.

The best manufacturers include products from Simon, PROxima, Legrand, Camelion, Schneider Electric

Such switches may not perform their duties and last a shorter period. The best manufacturers include products from Simon, PROxima, Legrand, Camelion, Schneider Electric.

Prices for switches start at 400 rubles. The cost increases if you take a device from a well-known company, buy products with additional functions, or make a device to order.

For home use, you do not need a super-expensive model. You can purchase PROxima MS-2000 EKF with an IR sensor, which will cost 450 rubles. Also a good option for a country house or cottage would be Camelion LX-16C / BI, made in durable plastic and can withstand temperatures from -20 degrees to +40 degrees.

Touch switch - what is it and where is it used

A touch switch is an electronic device that turns on or off the device using a touch signal - light touch, sound, movement, signal from the remote control - in the sensor's sensitivity zone. Mechanical pressing of the key, as on a conventional switch, is not required. This is the main difference between a touch switch and a conventional keyboard switch.

Such switches are used in an apartment or house, most often for the lighting system, as well as for raising blinds, curtains, opening garage doors, turning on or off household appliances, and adjusting heating systems.

Stylish appearance will decorate the interior, and ease of use will give additional comfort. Such a switch is built into the surface of an electrical appliance, for example, in a table lamp. To turn on the device, just touch it. Also, the switch sensor can be controlled by remote control, voice, react to movement, be equipped with a timer, dimmer. The timer will help save on electricity, and the dimmer will create the intensity of lighting that you need. For example, create a cozy subdued light for a romantic dinner or a relaxing evening.

The touch switch is used to save energy in places with high traffic of people. For example, in the entrance. The sensor reacts to movement when the tenant enters the entrance and turns off after a certain time.

Such a switch can be placed in the yard of a private house to illuminate the yard if necessary. This will reduce electricity consumption.

It is possible to equip the office with touch switches, for the convenience of switching off and on the lighting, closing and raising the blinds.

Thus, the touch switch is suitable for:

• apartments;
• private house;
• office
• public places;
• house territories.

S.V. for a table lamp - 2 operating modes

Installing such a device in a table lamp allows you to do without a key switch and not look for it in the dark, but turn on the lamp by touching the body.A short touch turns it on and off, and a long touch adjusts the brightness.

This lamp has disadvantages:

• no operation when the plug is in the wrong position in the socket - in this case, it is necessary to turn the plug.
• false positives when installing the lamp on a metal bedside table - in this case, you should install it on a dielectric base, made of wood or chipboard.

Scheme S.V. for a table lamp, assembled on 1 chip

This regulator is built on microchip 145AP2
. The control is carried out by a single sensor that provides on, off and brightness control. If there are no errors during installation, the circuit starts working immediately, without tuning.

The power part of the circuit is the KT3102B transistor and the KU602G triac. If necessary, it changes to a more powerful one or is switched on to the control output of a powerful triac.

Used this regulator
similar to a factory-made device - switching on / off is done by briefly touching the sensor. With a long touch, the brightness is adjusted, which is remembered and reproduced when you turn it on again.

As sensor
lamp housing is used.

2 cases of the need to repair S.V. for table lamp

Repair of such a device is reduced to the replacement of parts. The most common problem is the lack of light or a constant glow. The reason for this is a faulty triac.
It should be replaced, and in other cases, the issue of the economic feasibility of repair should be resolved.