Series connection
In electrical installation technology, a series circuit is a circuit that switches two pieces of electrical equipment (usually lamps ; traditionally a chandelier with two circuits) on and off using a single switch with four switch positions (a series switch). Instead of the historical rotary switches, double rocker switches are used today, which allow the equipment to be switched independently of one another; they are still referred to as series switches, even if this designation no longer describes the functionality.
Layout and function
The term series connection comes from the time when switches were only manufactured in the form of rotary switches . These series switches have four switch positions:
- 1: Off. (In the illustration of the rotary switch, the left half of the circle is red. No current flow.)
- 2: Light 1 on. (Illustration: The upper half of the circle would be red. The brown wire is connected to the center of the half of the circle, which makes contact with the purple wire.)
- 3: Lights 1 + 2 on. (Illustration: right half of the circle red. Contact from the brown to the purple and white wire.)
- 4: Light 2 on. (Illustration: Red lower half of the circle. Contact from the brown to the white wire.)
Since these four switching states could not be set directly, but only one after the other (serially), these switches were called series switches. Rotary series switches are only manufactured by a few brand manufacturers today.
Since double rocker switches are now mostly installed instead of the historical rotary switches, the term series switch has been transferred to this design. These switches have two rockers, each only half as wide as the rocker of individual switches. In such a series switch, there are only two circuit breakers in a common housing. If you install the circuit as indicated in the drawing, you switch the light 1 with the left rocker and the light 2 with the right rocker.
Rotary switch
The picture shows the correct structure of a rotary series switch, it is shown schematically, all four switch positions can be seen.
A counterclockwise rotation is shown, which successively runs through the positions "0: all off", "1: lamp 1 on", "1 + 2: both lamps on", "2: lamp 2 on".
The brown wire corresponds to the purple wire and the green wire corresponds to the white wire in the picture above.
If the series switch is to be used as a simple off switch, the black connection remains free. The lead is connected to the brown connection and the lead to the green connection. This means that a switching process takes place with each actuation.
There are also (foot) pressure switches and cord pull switches available, which have the described function of a rotary series switch. Here, the pushing or pulling movement is converted into a rotary movement and the actual rotating switch is actuated via a snap mechanism and a freewheel or a pawl .
Other circuits
Further circuits in the electrical installation are
literature
- Alfred Hösl, Roland Ayx, Hans Werner Busch: The electrical installation in accordance with regulations, residential construction, commercial industry. 18th edition, Hüthig Verlag, Heidelberg, 2003, ISBN 3-7785-2909-9
- Günter Springer: Expertise in electrical engineering. 18th edition, Verlag - Europa - Lehrmittel, Wuppertal, 1989, ISBN 3-8085-3018-9
- A. Senner: Electrical engineering. 4th edition. Verlag - Europa-Lehrmittel, 1965