Understand The Air Switch in One Article!

Understand the air switch in one article!

The air switch has the function of protecting electrical equipment. It mainly plays a protective role and automatically trips when the current is overloaded or short-circuited.

1. What is an air switch?

The air switch is also called an air circuit breaker. It is a small trip switch that provides overcurrent protection. It is a type of circuit breaker. As long as the current in the circuit exceeds the rated value, it will automatically disconnect. The air switch is a very important device in the low-voltage distribution system. It is mainly used for electrical appliances in residential, commercial and industrial electrical systems.

2. Why is it called an air switch?

When the circuit is connected and disconnected, a dangerous arc will be generated. It will not only damage the contact point, but also prolong the time to disconnect the circuit. Therefore, people use various methods to eliminate the arc, and the air switch uses air as the arc extinguishing medium, so it is called an air switch.

3. The function of the air switch

The function of the air switch is to protect the safe use of electricity. Once the air switch cannot bear the load during the excessive current, it will automatically trip to achieve the purpose of tripping. Therefore, in the selection of the air switch, whether the tripping can achieve the purpose of tripping according to the excessive current is also a knowledge point in the selection of the air switch. Simply put, the existence of the air switch tripping is for tripping, and it is also a low-voltage switch device. Therefore, in different current processes, the tripping time will be different.

4. The working principle of the air switch

When the line is generally overloaded, the overload current cannot cause the electromagnetic release to operate, but it can cause the thermal element to generate a certain amount of heat, causing the bimetallic strip to bend upward due to the heat, pushing the lever to disengage the hook and the lock, disconnecting the main contact and cutting off the power supply. When a short circuit or severe overload current occurs in the line, the short circuit current exceeds the instantaneous tripping set current value, and the electromagnetic release generates a sufficiently large suction force to suck the street iron and hit the lever, causing the hook to rotate upward around the rotating shaft seat and disengage from the lock. Under the action of the reaction spring, the lock disconnects the three main contacts and cuts off the power supply.