Reduce relay coil current - copy

148

02:41:48

This circuit reduces the current consumption of a relay in the active state. The capacitor provides a transient current when switching on.
It takes advantage of the fact the the minimum hold current is lower then the minimum activation current.
It also works for solenoid valves, which is what I use it for.
Note the high power dissipation of the resistor.

published 7 years ago

benarmstrong89

7 years ago

Hi, in my case, it concerns cheap eBay solenoid water valves. They work on 24V, draw 0.24A, which amounts to 24V * 0.24A = 5.76W. They are simply badly designed. If you run then more then half an hour at full current, their temperature rises to 75°C. If you leave them on for long enough, on a hot day, the plastic casing starts warping. So in this case, running then at reduced current does increase their lifetime by a lot.

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