In order for the device to meet the owner’s expectations in the future, you need to choose it correctly. To do this you need to consider:

How many light sources will be connected to the switch.

Consider the temperature and amount of moisture in the room.

Will there be any other devices connected to the switch, for example, a temperature sensor?

Types of touch switches

There are many types of touch switches. More details about each:

A dimmer can be installed on each of these types of touch switches. It allows you to adjust the intensity of lighting in the room, which also saves energy.

The touch switch consists of three main parts. Its structure does not depend on its type. The first part is the decorative face plate. She reacts to touch, the approach of fingers.

The second part is a sensor, the type of which depends on the type of switch. It is responsible for transmitting information from the face plate, which receives the signal, to the third part. The third switching part. It converts the signal into an electrical one.

Installation of touch switches

In fact, connecting a circuit breaker is no different from a regular key switch; you can easily install a touch switch with your own hands. This process can be studied in the article:.

The development of technology has affected all areas of human life, including home improvement. One example is a touch-sensitive light switch. This device significantly increases the comfort of being in the room and allows you to control the lighting by touch. And this is not the only advantage.

Design features and operating principle

The touch switch operates even when you lightly touch the button. Consists of three main elements:

1. Control block. The system processes the external signal and transmits it to the necessary parts.
2. Switching device. Gives a load to the electrical network, which opens and closes the circuit and changes the current to the lamp.
3. Touch (control) panel. Designed to sense touches or signals from the remote control. In modern devices you don’t have to touch the sensor, just move your hand nearby.

Standard models of switches are equipped with the following capabilities:

1. Turn on/off the light, adjust the brightness.
2. Monitor the operation of heating equipment and report temperature changes.
3. Open/close blinds.
4. Turn on/off household appliances connected to the switch.

Among the additional functions, the motion sensor is very useful.

Classification system

Touch switches come in different types, which are selected depending on the needs of a residential building or office.

With remote control

Used in such cases:

• the switch is located in an inconvenient place and cannot be moved from there;
• a person with limited mobility lives in the apartment/house;
• switches are located at a height where children cannot reach;
• there is a need to change the brightness of the light without getting out of bed.

To work with a structure of this type, it is not necessary to use a special remote control. A universal one is suitable, connecting simultaneously to two, three or more devices.

With timer

The device has many advantages:

1. Quiet operation.
2. Easy to install.
3. Safety. If the circuit is broken or shorted, the switch automatically moves to the off position.
4. Attractive appearance. The device body can be painted in any color.
5. Two colors to indicate operation. Red indicates the backlight is on, blue indicates it is off.
6. Durability and reliability. Special glass is used to make products. The edges are carefully sanded. This makes the switch safe and easy to clean.
7. Versatility. Works with any type of lamp, be it LED, halogen or incandescent.

Touch switches with timers are distinguished by a wide range of functions and are economical.

Optical-acoustic switches

They react to sound or movement - clap, a spoken word or some kind of gesture. The main thing is that all this happens within the range of the sensor.

What are dimmers

Touch switches with a dimmer allow you to change the level of lighting in the room. Conventional devices operate in two modes - on/off. The dimmer allows you to adjust the brightness of the light to your taste.

Devices with such a device have important advantages:

1. Thanks to the ability to change brightness, they help reduce the amount of electricity consumed. The indicator decreases by 50%.
2. Allows you to adjust the lighting to suit the situation. For example, in the evening after a busy day at work, you can reduce the brightness to twilight.
3. If there are several switches in the room, using a dimmer you can focus attention on one part of the interior.

Designs with dimmers do not work with energy-saving and fluorescent lamps.

Devices for mounting LED lighting

Switches that can be connected to LED strips are also called dimmers. They turn on, turn off and adjust the brightness of the light source.

Most often, such devices are part of an entrance lighting scheme or a smart home system, and also focus attention on some detail of the room.

Advantages

Touch switches, compared to classic devices, have many advantages:

• can work with any light sources and electrical appliances;
• allow you to save energy;
• are distinguished by reliability and long service life;
• perform many functions;
• devices are easy to install;
• operate almost silently;
• safe for humans;
• the sensor is triggered even when it is touched with wet hands.

Several switching systems can be installed in one device.

How not to make a mistake with your choice

When choosing a touch switch, you first need to look at the maximum and minimum current and voltage. Usually the values ​​are indicated on the packaging or the device itself. If they differ greatly from the network characteristics, you will have to install a stabilizer.

It is also worth remembering other parameters:

• number of devices connected to one switch;
• need for a dimmer;
• Do you need a timer that automatically turns on/off lights or appliances;
• Operating principle: by touch or remote control.

When the set of functions and properties is defined, you can move on to external characteristics. For example, decide in advance whether the switch will have a glass or plastic control panel.

Manufacturers of touch switches

The manufacturer of the switch is an important factor determining its choice. Experts recommend giving preference to those that have a good reputation in this field:

1. Basalte. Produces premium products. They are distinguished by their unusual design and high quality. On the front panel, which is often made of glass, there are indicators that act as a backlight. The company also produces switches that can be integrated into a smart home system. The price of products depends on the complexity of their execution.
2. Legrand. A French company producing a wide range of electrical products. The switches it produces are endowed with a large number of functions. They belong to the expensive price segment.
3. Livolo. A Russian company that has appeared on the electrical engineering market quite recently. A distinctive feature of the touch switches it produces is their affordable price.

Subtleties of connection

Installing a touch switch is no different from installing a conventional device. It takes place in several stages:

• turn off the electricity;
• remove the old switch;
• remove the top panel from the new product;
• connect the wires to the terminals intended for them;
• place the operating mechanism of the switch in the installation box;
• secure the device using spacers and special screws;
• fix the panel.

The connection of the two-key model is carried out according to the same scheme. To avoid confusion, it is recommended to use cables that have multi-colored cores.

Pass-through switches are connected in the same way. They allow you to control a light source or equipment from different places. This is convenient if there is a long corridor in the apartment/house.

There is an option for unusual installation - not on the wall, but in the mirror. In this case, the switch must consist of a control unit and an infrared sensor. It is triggered not by touch, but by movement.

How to make a touch sensor with your own hands

You can construct a sensor for a touch switch yourself. To do this you need to prepare:

• relay with voltage 6–12 V;
• part of the foil PCB, which will play the role of a sensor;
• pulse diode with a voltage of 100 V.

Touching the sensor provokes the opening of elements designated in the diagram as VT1 and VT2. After this, the circuit will close (using a relay), and the lamp/electrical appliance will turn on.

You can also make a device with an infrared sensor yourself. It only works when there is movement within the sensor's visibility range. If it is absent, the lighting will turn off after a certain period of time.

The connection occurs according to the following diagram:

This scheme has important features:

• the output is one;
• transistor is open;
• the contacts from the relay must be connected to the key;
• The infrared sensor operates thanks to a pulse generator;
• to increase the strength of the pulse current that goes to the infrared LED, it is necessary to install amplifiers.

The connection is made so that after 20 minutes after a person leaves the room, the light turns off.

The sensor-based device is a good alternative to conventional switches. It is distinguished by its attractive appearance, efficiency, and reliability. Allows you to turn on/off not only light sources, but also household appliances. Products of this type can be purchased at a specialized store or, if you have the necessary skills and abilities, you can make them yourself.

Technologies do not stand still, and now we already have a touch switch in wide use, which allows us to take the lighting control system in the house to a fundamentally new level.

Our article will tell you why such a device is needed, what it is and how it works. Thanks to this, you can make a touch switch with your own hands for 12 or 220 volts without any problems, and the connection itself, both a home-made device and a purchased one, will not be difficult.

How the device works

The touch switch looks like a standard touch panel and looks like a plate consisting of crystalline glass with markings applied. This dimmer can have a wide variety of appearances. The switch circuit is a semiconductor device. It helps control the energy consumer.
A touch dimmer can be connected to luminaires to control the light level. These can be any lamps. But besides this, you can connect electric curtain rods and other modern electronic devices that are part of the “smart home” system to it.
The device circuit (220 or 12 volts), regardless of the number of lamps connected to it, consists of three main functional parts:

• decorative profile or face plate. A sensitive element is placed on it. The profile has the ability to respond to touch or proximity;
• semiconductor circuit. This circuit is the “soul” of the switch. The circuit is responsible for analyzing, controlling lamps and turning on the lights. It converts the sensitive signal that the decorative profile perceives into an electrical impulse;
• switching part. The dimmer in this part perceives the converted electrical signal. It is responsible for various actions with the electrical circuit: smooth adjustment of the light of lamps, opening, closing.

Dimmer device

The operating principle of the device is based on the following: when you touch the front part, a signal is generated, which is subsequently converted into an electrical impulse and activates the switching part of the device.

What is good about the device?

Touch switch is a modern technological solution for comfortable and efficient control of the operation of lamps in the house. When installing it you get the following benefits:

• the operating life of the light source, regardless of the type of lamp, is significantly increased due to the smooth switching on of the lighting;
• excellent quality;
• high reliability;
• compatibility with any light sources;

Note! The touch dimmer can be connected to any type of light source: diode lamps, induction lamps, incandescent lamps, etc.

Motion sensor switch

• there are models with voltage of 12 and 220 volts;
• the presence of an economical operating mode, as well as the ability to regulate power;
• Possibility of integration into a standard lighting circuit or a smart home system.

In addition, the touch switch today is often equipped with additional functionality. These additional options include:

• the ability to use a dimmer in conjunction with a remote control. With its help, you can remotely control the operation of lamps in the house. You can connect several switches of the same type to the remote control;
• equipping switches with temperature, motion, light sensors, etc.

Note! The most common addition is a motion sensor.

As you can see, using such a switch (for example, 12 volts), you can significantly simplify your life in your own home.

Selection rules

To take full advantage of all the benefits, you need to choose the right touch switch model. When choosing, you must be guided by the following criteria:

• the number of lamps that will be connected;
• dimmer location;
• is it planned to connect additional electrical appliances;
• operating voltage (12 or 220 volts);
• need for additional functions.

Only by taking these parameters into account will you be able to make the right choice.
Now let's look at the most popular models.

Basalte

These are products of the Belgian company Basalte. The company provides a huge selection of a wide variety of touch switch models.

Basalte switch

Such devices are always of high quality, but they are also very expensive.

Livolo

Livolo touch switches are domestic products. Therefore, their price will be several times lower than that of foreign companies.

Livolo switch

At the same time, Livolo touch switches, despite their affordable price, may be slightly inferior in quality. In rare cases, the device may not operate correctly if fluorescent or LED lamps are connected to it.

Legrand

Switches from the French company Legrand are distinguished by excellent quality and functionality.

Legrand switch

But here again you will have to face the high cost of imported products.
In terms of functionality and variety of models presented, all three brands have almost the same distribution on the market in our country. They only differ in price and, slightly, quality.

How to install

Connection diagram

Connection of touch switch models occurs as follows:

Note! Installation of the device is generally similar to that of a standard push-button switch;

• turn off the electricity;
• dismantle the old switch;
• remove the top part of the dimmer;
• we connect the “phase” and “zero” wires according to the diagram to the corresponding terminals;
• We install the dimmer in the mounting box and fix it here with screws and spacers.

As you can see, selecting and installing a touch switch is not difficult. You can do this kind of work without proper experience in about ten minutes. As a result, you will modernize your own home, adding several points to home comfort and coziness.

Details about the motion sensor switch
Selecting a street motion sensor to turn on the lights

The reliability of any system is higher, the fewer moving elements there are in it. Therefore, when considering a mechanical and touch-type lighting switch, it can be noted that the latter has serious advantages in this sense. But, in addition to reliability, sensor devices amaze, of course, with their futurism. Space design and advanced functionality, what could better meet the trend of modern technology?

Touch switch - what is it?

The sensor device is able to sense any impact on it. Speaking of a switch, such an impact would be a person touching the area of ​​the sensitive zone. But, unlike a mechanical switch, other than a light touch from the operator, no additional effort is required for the device to operate. Moreover, touching the same area again will lead to a change in the state of the device - to the opposite.

A touch light switch, just like a conventional electromechanical one, is designed to turn the lighting on and off. But this does not happen with a direct mechanical break of the contact, but through an electronic circuit, which first analyzes the signal coming from the sensor (sensor) and gives a command to the relay. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that a switch with a sensor device is completely devoid of mechanics. But the reliability of such a relay is much higher than a simple mechanical contact.

The appearance of the device can be completely different. But in all cases, this is a panel on which there is a certain background and the touch zones are clearly marked. For ease of orientation in a dark room, the sensors are illuminated with a special indication. Switches come in one, two or three positions with the ability to switch up to three zones.

What does the device consist of?

Circuit design, all touch switches are similar to each other. Their work is based on the same processes. Therefore, one device node (meaning the switching node) is assembled on the following three main elements:

Connecting the touch switch to the network

Despite the fact that the sensor is a complex electronic device, installing it in a circuit does not require any special knowledge from the installer. All this is explained by the presence in the switch of standard contact connectors, which are also found in mechanical switches.

Also, the size of the sensor seat and its fastening elements are consistent with standard installation boxes.

Let's take a closer look at how to connect a touch switch:

The more switching zones a switch can provide, the more pairs of contacts it will have on the back side.

Connecting the sensor to a table lamp

The general lighting of the room is not always enough for normal work. This happens because the chandelier, as a rule, is located in a certain place on the ceiling and its light may not fall very well on the workplace. The way out of the situation is to purchase a table lamp.

The inconvenience of most table lamps is that the mechanical switch is usually located not on the body of the product itself, but on the power cord. Looking for such a switch, especially near a night light, is, to put it mildly, inconvenient. With the advent of the lamp touch switch, it became possible to correct the situation.

The sensor is better suited for these purposes than a regular switch, because the latter must be embedded into the front panel - this is not always possible to do successfully, from an aesthetic point of view. The touch switch can simply be hidden under the body of the product, bringing it as close as possible to the surface. To install the sensor in a table lamp, you need:

Connecting the sensor to the control panel

The touch switch is easy to use, but sometimes there are times when you need to bind a control panel to it. Most sensors support this feature. This may be necessary if it is impossible for a sick person to approach the switch and in other situations. Using the example of a touch device from Livolo, it is convenient to understand how this connection process occurs:

Device selection criteria

Just like conventional switches, the devices are designed to operate with a certain current and voltage, so when choosing them, you must first pay attention to these parameters. Information can be found on the device body or on its packaging. If the electricity in a real network deviates from the parameters required by the switch, then a stabilizer must be included in the circuit.

Other selection criteria are:

• Number of connection zones to one device.
• The need for a dimmer.
• The need to have a timer, remote control, temperature sensor or other additional function in the device.
• Device type - LED touch switch, for other lamps or electrical appliances.

At the very last stage, you can decide on the design of the product and its compliance with the style of the room where it will be installed.

Advantages

If we compare two types of switches - classic and touch, the latter has a wide range of advantages:

• Ability to work in tandem with most lighting systems and various equipment.
• Longer service life with high operational reliability.
• Safe for human life and health when used even with wet hands.
• Expanded functionality.
• Easy to connect and install.
• Quiet operation.
• Aesthetically attractive appearance.

Using touch switches for lighting fixtures, you can effectively save electrical energy. To do this, buy not ordinary devices, but those that have a dimmer function. This allows you to reduce the voltage supply to the lamp, thereby changing the brightness of its combustion.

Finally

When installing any systems (desktop touch switches or wall-mounted), you should not forget that working with electricity requires extreme care and compliance with safety precautions. Therefore, if you do not have the necessary skills, it is better to invite a qualified electrician for installation.

Digression about delivery and track

A Chinese guy gave me a strange track UA******YP. At first I thought that the goods were sent to Ukraine by mistake, which I wrote to the seller about.
The seller assured that everything was fine with the shipment. That they use new logistics to speed up delivery and that these tracks can be tracked by address
or
But these sites said nothing about my track :(

Resoldering triacs is a matter of minutes

I had to bend the electrolytic capacitors a little differently, since one was touching the triac housing. But the BT137, alas, is not isolated.

I turn it on - everything works like a clock. As a result, I get a touch switch “1-WAY 5A” according to Chinese gradation;)))
In fact, a triac in a TO-220 housing without a radiator can switch 150-200W.

But who’s stopping you from putting a triac on the radiator? For example, a 25cm2 radiator allows you to switch 800W, if the full load of this triac is 8 standard (not Chinese amperes)?
And in order to ensure that there is no high voltage on the radiator, it is attached to the triac with the following things - plastic insulators for the screw and silicone gaskets:

which are sold for pennies, 50-100 pieces


- $1.42/100
- $0.99/100

Well, or you can do it the old fashioned way using mica plates.

So the switches arrived, were successfully modernized and put into operation.

The assets still have 5 used low-power MAC97 triacs and a pair of “3-WAY” switches for Chinese 3A.

I spent a long time studying circuit boards for switches.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find any jumpers that set the “1-WAY/3-WAY” operating mode. Apparently, different “black blot” microcircuits or their firmware are used, if it is a PLC.

Let's sum it up

Advantages:
- Works flawlessly (if it doesn’t immediately burn out in power)
- Low price
- Small dimensions
- Easy connection
- Can be upgraded to increase desired power
Flaws:
- Maximum switching current is significantly less than stated
- Very flimsy wires

The sensor does not respond to the cat, but he is extremely dissatisfied with the experiment