Traducir esta página al Español Opciones

Traducido al: español Mostrar texto original Opciones ▼

Register to download premium content!

Tutorials Premium content Further Education Sitemap Contact Us Register Log In English

Home / Power Electronics / Solid State Relay

Read more Tutorials inPower

Solid State Relay Electronics
Solid State Relays are semiconductor
equivalents of the electromechanical relay and 1. Thyristor Tutorial

can be used to control electrical loads without 2. Thyristor Circuit

the use of moving parts 3. Triac Tutorial
4. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

5. Diac Tutorial

6. Unijunction Transistor
7. Switch Mode Power Supply

Unlike electro-mechanical relays (EMR) which use coils, magnetic elds, springs and 8. Transient Suppression Devices

mechanical contacts to operate and switch a supply, the solid state relay, or SSR, has no 9. Solid State Relay

moving parts but instead uses the electrical and optical properties of solid state 10. Single Phase Recti cation
Usamos cookies en nuestro sitio web para brindarle la experiencia más relevante
semiconductors recordando
to perform itssus preferencias
input y visitas
to output repetidas.
isolation andAlswitching
hacer clic enfunctions.
"Aceptar todo", acepta el uso de TODAS11.
lasThree
cookies. SinRecti cation
Phase Con guración de cookies Aceptar todo
embargo, puede visitar "Con guración de cookies" para proporcionar un consentimiento controlado.
Just like a normal electro-mechanical relay, SSR’s provide complete electrical isolation
between their input and output contacts with its output acting like a conventional
electrical switch in that it has very high, almost in nite resistance when nonconducting
(open), and a very low resistance when conducting (closed). Solid state relays can be
designed to switch both AC or DC currents by using an SCR, TRIAC, or switching
transistor output instead of the usual mechanical normally-open (NO) contacts.

While the solid state relay and electro-mechanical relay are fundamentally similar in that
their low voltage input is electrically isolated from the output that switches and controls a
load, electro-mechanical relays have a limited contact life cycle, can take up a lot of room
and have slower switch speeds, especially large power relays and contactors. Solid state
relays have no such limitations.

Thus the main advantages solid state relays have over

conventional electro-mechanical relays is that they have no
moving parts to wear out, and therefore no contact bounce
issues, are able to switch both “ON” and “OFF” much faster
than a mechanical relays armature can move, as well as zero
voltage turn-on and zero current turn-off eliminating
electrical noise and transients.

Solid state relays can be bought in standard off-the-shelf packages ranging from just a few
volts or amperes to many hundreds of volts and amperes of output switching capability.
However, solid state relays with very high current ratings (150A plus) are still too
expensive to buy due to their power semiconductor and heat sinking requirements, and as
such, cheaper electro-mechanical contactors are still used.

Similar to an electro-mechanical relay, a small input voltage, typically 3 to 32 volts DC, can
be used to control a much large output voltage, or current. For example 240V, 10Amps.
This makes them ideal for microcontroller, PIC and Arduino interfacing as a low-current,
5-volt signal from say a micro-controller or logic gate can be used to control a particular
circuit load, and this is achieved with the use of opto-isolators.

Solid State Relay Input

One of the main components of a solid state relay (SSR) is an opto-isolator (also called an
optocoupler) which contains one (or more) infra-red light-emitting diode, or LED light
source, and a photo sensitive device within a single case. The opto-isolator isolates the
input from the output.

The LED light source is connected to the SSR’s input drive section and provides optical
coupling through a gap to an adjacent photo sensitive transistor, darlington pair or triac.
When a current passes through the LED, it illuminates and its light is focused across the
gap to a photo-transistor/photo-triac.

Thus the output of an opto-coupled SSR is turned “ON” by energising this LED, usually
with low-voltage signal. As the only connection between the input and output is a beam of
light, high voltage isolation (usually several thousand volts) is achieved by means of this
internal opto-isolation.

Not only does the opto-isolator provide a higher degree of input/output isolation, it can
also transmit dc and low-frequency signals. Also, the LED and photo-sensitive device
could be totally separate from each other and optically coupled by means of an optical
bre.

The input circuitry of an SSR may consist of just a single current limiting resistor in series
with the LED of the opto-isolator, or of a more complex circuit with recti cation, current
regulation, reverse polarity protection, ltering, etc.

To activate or turn “ON” a sold state relay into conduction, a voltage greater than its
minimum value (usually 3 volts DC) must be applied to its input terminals (equivalent to
the electro-mechanical relay coil). This DC signal may be derived from a mechanical
switch, a logic gate or micro-controller, as shown.

Solid State Relay DC Input Circuit

 
When using mechanical contacts, switches, push-buttons, other relay contacts, etc, as the
activating signal, the supply voltage used can be equal to the SSR’s minimum input voltage
value, whereas when using solid state devices such as transistors, gates and micro-
controllers, the minimum supply voltage needs to be one or two volts above the SSR’s
turn-on voltage to account for the switching devices internal voltage drop.

But as well as using a DC voltage, either sinking or sourcing, to switch the solid state relay
into conduction, we can also use a sinusoidal waveform as well by adding a bridge recti er
for full-wave recti cation and a lter circuit to the DC input as shown.

Solid State Relay AC Input Circuit

 
Bridge recti ers convert a sinusoidal voltage into full-wave recti ed pulses at twice the
input frequency. The problem here is that these voltage pulses start and end from zero
volts which means that they will fall below the minimum turn-on voltage requirements of
the SSR’s input threshold causing the output to turn “on” and “off” every half cycle.

Para superar este disparo errático de la salida, podemos suavizar las ondas recti cadas
usando un condensador de suavizado (C1) en la salida del puente recti cador. El efecto de
carga y descarga del capacitor elevará el componente de CC de la señal recti cada por
encima del valor máximo de voltaje de encendido de la entrada del relé de estado sólido.
Entonces, aunque se usa una forma de onda de voltaje sinusoidal que cambia
constantemente, la entrada del SSR es un voltaje de CC constante.

Los valores de la resistencia de caída de tensión, R 1 y el condensador de ltrado, C 1 se

eligen para adaptarse a la tensión de alimentación, 120 voltios CA o 240 voltios CA, así
como la impedancia de entrada del relé de estado sólido. Pero algo alrededor de 40kΩ y
10uF sería su ciente.

Luego, con este recti cador de puente y el circuito de capacitor de suavizado agregado, un
relé de estado sólido de CC estándar se puede controlar utilizando un suministro de CA o
CC no polarizado. Por supuesto, los fabricantes ya producen y venden relés de estado
sólido de entrada de CA (generalmente de 90 a 280 voltios de CA).

Salida de relé de estado sólido

Las capacidades de conmutación de salida de un relé de estado sólido pueden ser CA o CC
similares a sus requisitos de voltaje de entrada. El circuito de salida de la mayoría de los
relés de estado sólido estándar está con gurado para realizar solo un tipo de acción de
conmutación, lo que equivale a una operación normalmente abierta, unipolar y de un solo
tiro (SPST-NO) de un relé electromecánico.

Para la mayoría de los SSR de CC, el dispositivo de conmutación de estado sólido que se
usa comúnmente son los transistores de potencia, los Darlington y los MOSFET, mientras
que para un SSR de CA, el dispositivo de conmutación es un triac o tiristores consecutivos.
Se pre eren los tiristores debido a sus capacidades de alto voltaje y corriente. También se
puede usar un solo tiristor dentro de un circuito recti cador de puente como se muestra.

Circuito de salida de relé de estado sólido

 
La aplicación más común de los relés de estado sólido es la conmutación de una carga de
CA, ya sea para controlar la alimentación de CA para el encendido/apagado, la atenuación
de la luz, el control de la velocidad del motor u otras aplicaciones donde se necesita el
control de la alimentación, estas cargas de CA se puede controlar fácilmente con un
voltaje de CC de baja corriente utilizando un relé de estado sólido que proporciona una
larga vida útil y altas velocidades de conmutación.

Una de las mayores ventajas de los relés de estado sólido sobre un relé electromecánico
es su capacidad para "APAGAR" las cargas de CA en el punto de corriente de carga cero,
eliminando así por completo la formación de arcos, el ruido eléctrico y el rebote de
contactos asociados con los relés mecánicos convencionales y las cargas inductivas. .

Esto se debe a que los relés de estado sólido de conmutación de CA utilizan SCR y TRIAC
como su dispositivo de conmutación de salida que continúa conduciendo, una vez que se
elimina la señal de entrada, hasta que la corriente de CA que uye a través del dispositivo
cae por debajo de su umbral o valor actual de mantenimiento. Entonces, la salida de un
SSR nunca puede apagarse en medio de un pico de onda sinusoidal.

El apagado de corriente cero es una gran ventaja para usar un relé de estado sólido, ya que
reduce el ruido eléctrico y la fuerza contraelectromotriz asociada con la conmutación de
cargas inductivas, tal como se ve como arcos por los contactos de un relé
electromecánico. Considere el siguiente diagrama de forma de onda de salida de un relé
de estado sólido de CA típico.

Forma de onda de salida de relé de estado sólido

 
Sin señal de entrada aplicada, no uye corriente de carga a través del SSR ya que está
efectivamente APAGADO (en circuito abierto) y las terminales de salida ven el voltaje de
suministro de CA completo. Con la aplicación de una señal de entrada de CC, sin importar
qué parte de la forma de onda sinusoidal, ya sea positiva o negativa, esté pasando el ciclo,
debido a las características de conmutación de voltaje cero del SSR, la salida solo se
enciende cuando la forma de onda cruza el punto cero

A medida que el voltaje de suministro aumenta en dirección positiva o negativa, alcanza el

valor mínimo requerido para ENCENDER completamente los tiristores de salida o el triac
(generalmente menos de aproximadamente 15 voltios). La caída de voltaje a través de las
terminales de salida del SSR es la caída de voltaje en estado activado de los dispositivos de
conmutación, V T (generalmente menos de 2 voltios). Por lo tanto, cualquier corriente de
irrupción alta asociada con cargas reactivas o de lámparas se reduce considerablemente.

When the DC input voltage signal is removed, the output does not suddenly turn-off as
once triggered into conduction, the thyristor or triac used as the switching device stays
ON for the remainder of the half cycle until the load currents drops below the devices
holding current, at which point it switches OFF. Thus the high dv/dt back emf’s associated
with switching inductive loads in the middle of a sine wave is greatly reduced.

Then the main advantages of the AC solid state relay over the electro-mechanical relay
are its zero crossing function which turns ON the SSR when the AC load voltage is close to
zero volts, thus suppressing any high inrush currents as the load current will always start
from a point close to 0V, and the inherent zero current turn-off characteristic of the
thyristor or triac. Therefore there is a maximum possible turn-off delay (between the
removal of the input signal and the removal of load current) of one half cycle.

Phase Dimming Solid State Relay

While solid state relays can perform straight forward zero-crossing switching of a load,
they can also perform much more complicated functions by means of digital logic circuits,
microprocessors and memories. Another excellent application of a solid state relay is in
lamp dimming applications, whether in the home or for a show or concert.

Non-zero (instant-on) switching solid state relays turn-on immediately after the
application of the input control signal as opposed to the zero crossing SSR above which
waits until the next zero-crossing point of the AC sine-wave. This random- re switching is
used in resistive applications such as lamp dimming and applications that require the load
only to be energised for a small portion of the AC cycle.

Random Switching Output Waveform

 
While this allows for the phase control of the load waveform, the main problem random
turn-on SSR’s is that the initial load surge current at the instant the relay turns-on, may be
high due to the SSR switching power when the supply voltage is close to its peak value
(90o). When the input signal is removed, it stops conducting when the load current falls
below the thyristors or triacs holding current as shown. Obviously for a DC SSR, the ON-
OFF switching action is instant.

The solid state relay is ideal for a wide range of ON/OFF switching applications as they
have no moving parts or contacts unlike an electro-mechanical relay (EMR). There are
many different commercial types to choose from for both AC and DC input control signals
as well as AC and DC output switching as they employ semiconductor switching elements,
such as thyristors, triacs and transistors.

But by using a combination of a good opto-isolator and a triac, we can make our own
inexpensive and simple solid state relay to control an AC load such as a heater, lamp or
solenoid. As an opto-isolator only needs a small amount of input/control power to
operate, the control signal could be from a PIC, Arduino, Raspberry PI, or any other such
micro-controller.

Example No1
Lets assume we want a micro-controller with a digital output port signal of only +5 volts
to control a 120V AC, 600 watt heating element. For this we could use the MOC 3020
opto-triac isolator, but the internal triac can only pass a maximum current (ITSM) of 1
Amps peak at the peak of a 120V AC supply so an additional switching triac must also be
used.

First lets consider the input characteristics of the MOC 3020 opto-isolator (other opto-
triacs are available). The opto-isolators datasheet tells us that the forward voltage, (VF)
drop of the input light emitting diode is 1.2 volts and the maximum forward current, (IF) is
50mA.

The LED needs about 10mA to shine reasonably brightly up to its maximum value of
50mA. However the digital output port of the micro-controller can only supply a
maximum of 30mA. Then the value of current required lies somewhere between 10 and
30 milli-amperes. Therefore:

Thus a series current limiting resistor with a value between 126 and 380Ω’s can be used.
As the digital output port always switches +5 volts and to reduce the power dissipation
through the opto-couplers LED, we will choose a preferred resistive value of 240Ω’s. This
gives an LED forward current of less than 16mA. In this example, any preferred resistor
value between 150Ω and 330Ω’s would do.

The heating element load is 600 watts resistive. Using a 120V AC supply would give us a
load current of 5 amperes (I = P/V). As we want to control this load current in both half
cycles (all 4 quadrants) of the AC waveform, we would require a mains switching triac.

The BTA06 is a 6 amps (IT(RMS)) 600 volt triac suitable for general purpose ON/OFF
switching of AC loads, but any similar 6 to 8 amp rated triac would do. Also this switching
triac requires only 50mA of gate drive to start conduction which is far less than the 1 amp
maximum rating of the MOC 3020 opto-isolator.

Consider that the output triac of the opto-isolator has switched ON at the peak value
(90o) of the 120VRMS AC supply voltage. This peak voltage has a value of: 120 x 1.414
= 170Vpk. If the opto-triacs maximum current (ITSM) is 1 ampere peak, then the minimum
value of series resistance require is 170/1 = 170Ω’s, or 180Ω’s to the nearest preferred
value. This value of 180Ω’s will protect the opto-coupler output triac, as well as the gate
of the BTA06 triac on a 120VAC supply.

If the triac of the opto-isolator switches ON at the zero crossover value (0o) of the
120VRMS AC supply voltage, then the minimum voltage required to supply the required
50mA gate drive current forcing the switching triac into conduction will be:
180Ω x 50mA = 9.0 volts. Then the triac res into conduction when the sinusoidal Gate-
to-MT1 voltage is greater than 9 volts.

Thus the minimum voltage required after the zero crossover point of the AC waveform
would be 9 volts peak with the power dissipation in this series gate resistor being very
small so a 180Ω, 0.5 watt rated resistor could safely be used. Consider the circuit below.

An AC SSR Circuit

 
This type of optocoupler con guration forms the basis of a very simple solid state relay
application which can be used to control any AC mains powered load such as lamps and
motors. Here we have used the MOC 3020 which is a random switching isolator. The
MOC 3041 opto-triac isolator has the same characteristics but with built-in zero-crossing
detection allowing the load to receive full power without the heavy inrush currents when
switching inductive loads.

Diode D1 prevents damage due to reverse connection of the input voltage, while the 56
ohm resistor (R3) shunts any di/dt currents when the triac is OFF eliminating false
triggering. It also ties the gate terminal to MT1 ensuring the triac turns-off fully.

If used with a pulse width modulated, PWM input signal, the ON/OFF switching
frequency should be set to less than 10Hz maximum for an AC load otherwise the output
switching of this solid state relay circuit may not be able to keep up.

Previous Next
Transient Suppression Single Phase Recti cation
Devices

Read more Tutorials inPower Electronics

1. Thyristor Tutorial
2. Thyristor Circuit

3. Triac Tutorial
4. Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor

5. Diac Tutorial

6. Unijunction Transistor
7. Switch Mode Power Supply

8. Transient Suppression Devices

9. Solid State Relay

10. Single Phase Recti cation

11. Three Phase Recti cation

145 Comments

Join the conversation

Your Name Email Address

Write your comment here

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

SUBMIT

Hayatullah Rahimi
Is there a SSR that could energize one coil after another very very very fast

Posted on April 30th 2023 | 3:05 pm  Reply

Paul
For a DC system, some documentation describes that the DC load shall be connected on the positive side of the
SSR, some other schematics show the load connected to the negative side of the SSR.
Is there any preference and why?

Posted on February 05th 2023 | 12:41 am  Reply

Wayne Storr
In theory no, but depends if you want to sink or source the load. Also, if the load is connected to the
positive side of the DC SSR, it will always have a DC voltage applied to it, with reference to ground,
even when the SSR is de-energised.

Posted on February 05th 2023 | 9:59 am  Reply

Paul
Thanks Wayne. Makes sense.

Posted on February 05th 2023 | 10:02 am  Reply

David Ecklein
Both conventional and solid state relays have distinct advantages of their own. Choice of either depends on the
application and circuit design.

One difference between most conventional relays and a solid state relay is the lack of signi cant hysteresis in
the solid state relay. After the current actuates a conventional relay, when current is reduced a conventional
relay stays actuated until a certain lower current is reached. The actuating agent in a solid state relay is an LED
where the hysteresis is near zero.

Another difference is that the conventional relay presents an inductive load.

The third difference is that the input to a solid state relay is DC, whereas conventional relays generally can be
operated AC or DC.

The fourth (and major) difference is that conventional relays may have many normally open and/or normally
closed contacts, whereas solid state relays are generally limited to just one normally open output circuit.

Posted on January 28th 2023 | 9:03 pm  Reply

Nazer
I am writing to inquire about your solid state relay products. Speci cally, I am looking for a solid state relay to
dim light that is rated for 110VAC and has an input of 0 to 10VDC.

Could you please provide me with information on your available options, including speci cations and pricing? I
would also appreciate it if you could provide any data sheets or technical documents that would be helpful in
evaluating your products.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Posted on January 16th 2023 | 3:55 am  Reply

Romeo Jr. Ditchon

What is the the maximum frequency of the ssr
Thank you

Posted on December 21st 2022 | 11:43 pm  Reply

E. Ronn Andreasen
Hello,
I need SSR Modules ready to use with Heat-Sink for 250VAC 50Hz 40A and controlled bu 4-20mA analog input
for 0-100% power output in a Load resistor

Posted on October 25th 2022 | 2:46 pm  Reply

Dan Okrasinski
Is there a package device that is a low voltage S.S relay pre -connected to an optoisolater that can be used for
high voltage /current output. 5 volt D.C. input to operate a 120 / 240 A.C on off device. I.E. a complete unit all
packaged together for the end user.

Posted on August 20th 2022 | 11:04 am  Reply

Ravi arutla
Good information

Posted on August 20th 2022 | 8:55 am  Reply

Willem
I suspect that, if an appropriate SSR is used, one could drive the AC load directly from the relay, without an
additional triac as in your circuit above? Is this correct? Thank you for your valuable blog.

Posted on June 11th 2022 | 10:17 am  Reply

Richard
Laughing because I came here to look for a solution to a request to drive a 1600W heater off of a 4-20ma
output. Although this isn’t the solution it sure refreshed my understanding of what’s going on with SSR (Triac)
relays in general. Thanks, I drew a copy into my notebook

Posted on May 27th 2022 | 4:04 pm  Reply

Bill
Is there a type of the SSR that could be used to easily interface with a residential wall switch dimmer to boost
the current carrying capacity? For example; Use the wall switch’s TRIAC Pulse-width Modulated 120VAC
output to regulate the duty cycle for interface with the SSR’s input. This would be a simple way to allow a
standard 600W wall dimmer to control a heavy resistive load of 20-30 amps @240VAC.

Best regards,
Bill

Posted on December 21st 2021 | 9:25 pm  Reply

Rudy Gomez
Messrs we have our load switch on 220vac 20amps for lights we need a relay 2 pole for incase our load of ac
220vac fall down it switch over on Genset.220vac can you checkout witch kind of relay we need we prices and
shipping cost to our ship forwarder in Miami Fl. zip, code 33186-6700 mail us your phone number
regards
Rudy rudygomez1938@gmail’com

Posted on August 15th 2021 | 1:26 am  Reply

Imtiaz mahmood
I want to build a circuit to switch a load 0 to 75 A at frequency of 1KHz with 25% duty cycle

Posted on August 13th 2021 | 2:11 pm  Reply

Nishad
Hello
rst of all its very great information. Kudos to you. I m using ESP 32 as a microcontroller and want to build a
PWM based AC dimmer using SSR. Could you please give a brief idea about it like how it can be done what type
of SSR I will require?

Posted on July 13th 2021 | 3:47 pm  Reply

KATHIRAVAN
Dear Sir,
We are making a temperature controller for the blow moulding machine controller for plastic industries. Our
controller module output is 0-24V which will be connected to the SSR relay input and SSR output is connected
to the barrel heater. from the temperature controller, we are using PID implementation so based on controller
output how does the SSR output will work?

Controller output varies from 0-24V based on RTD sensor input and set temperature.

Posted on June 25th 2021 | 2:15 pm  Reply

Mark
Some SSRs are sold as AC to AC, so presumably they already have a recti er built in or are using some other
method. Do you know much about them? I’m trying to determine if they can have the same 120V AC source
energize the device and pass through its contacts. With EM relays, this creates feedback problems.

Posted on May 18th 2021 | 11:15 pm  Reply

Stephen
Can it be used in a situation where there is the risk of lightning or heavy surge

Posted on April 25th 2021 | 5:48 am  Reply

K K DE
Is ‘NC ‘ output version of Solid State Relay available?

Posted on March 29th 2021 | 3:01 am  Reply

Surya
Hello, I am looking for a switch or relay that can control two devices with the condition when one device is
drawing power ie., in ON state the switch should cut-off power automatically to the other device and vice versa.

Posted on March 12th 2021 | 3:56 am  Reply

Dan Okrasinski
Can I use a solid state relay to operate a load of AC 50 amp output with an input of AC 20 amps. As is the case of
many AC load circuits the 50 amp is only a start up amperage and once the load is energized it would only carry
a load of one half or less of that. So to review: 120 AC 20 amp input 240 AC 50 amp load . My goal is to be able
to operate a spa from a conventional household current eliminating troublesome electrical mechanical relays.

Posted on January 26th 2021 | 1:25 pm  Reply

More

View More

THE BASICS FOR ADVERTISERS ASPENCORE NETWORK GLOBAL NETWORK CONNECT WITH US

Contact Us Contact Sales EDN EE Times EE Times Asia EE Times China Facebook
Privacy Policy Media Guide Request EEWeb Electronic Products EE Times India EE Times Japan

Terms of Use Power Electronics News EPSNews EE Times Taiwan EDN Asia

Embedded Planet Analog EDN China EDN Taiwan

ElectroSchematics TechOnline EDN Japan ESM China

Datasheets.com Electronics Know How

IoT Times The Channelist

Todos los contenidos son Copyright © 2023 de AspenCore, Inc. Todos los derechos reservados.