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A thermal cutoff is an electrical safety device (either a thermal fuse or thermal switch) that interrupts electric current when heated to a specific temperature. These devices may be for one-time use (a thermal fuse), or may be reset manually or automatically (a thermal switch).
A thermal fuse is a cutoff which uses a one-time fusible link. Unlike a thermal switch which may automatically reset itself when the temperature drops, the thermal fuse is more like an electrical fuse: a single-use device that cannot be reset and must be replaced when it fails or is triggered. A thermal fuse is used when the overheating is a result of a rare occurrence, such as failure requiring repair (which would also replace the fuse) or replacement at the end of service life. [1]
One mechanism is a small meltable pellet that holds down a spring. When the pellet melts, the spring is released, separating the contacts and breaking the circuit. The Tamura LE series, NEC Sefuse SF series, Microtemp G4A series, and Hosho Elmwood D series, for example, may use thermoplastic pellets that lose strength or melt at specific temperature. [2]
Another mechanism is more similar to an electrical fuse, a fusible element that melts when subjected to temperature above its threshold. The difference from the electrical fuse is in using the surrounding temperature, instead of the temperature generated by ohmic heating of the fusible element. The elements are conductive and usually consist of binary or ternary fusible alloy of tin, bismuth, antimony, indium, lead, and other metals. [3]
Thermal fuses are usually found in heat-producing electrical appliances such as coffeemakers and hair dryers. They function as safety devices to disconnect the current to the heating element in case of a malfunction (such as a defective thermostat) that would otherwise allow the temperature to rise to dangerous levels, possibly starting a fire.
Unlike electrical fuses or circuit breakers, thermal fuses only react to excessive temperature and not to excessive current (unless the excessive current is sufficient to cause the thermal fuse itself to heat up to the trigger temperature). For example, in a surge protector thermal fuses may be wired in series with the varistors; when the varistors conduct, the fuse heats up and disconnects the power, which eliminates the risk of fire which can occur when the varistors are overloaded.
A thermal switch (sometimes thermal reset or thermal cutout (TCO)) is a device which normally opens at a high temperature (often with a faint "plink" sound) and re-closes when the temperature drops. The thermal switch may be a bimetallic strip, often encased in a tubular glass bulb to protect it from dust or short circuit. Another common design uses a bimetallic shallow dome-shaped cap which "clicks" to an inside-out inverted cap shape when heated, such as the "Klixon" brand of thermal cutouts. [4]
Unlike a thermal fuse, a thermal switch is usually reusable and is therefore suited to protecting against temporary situations which are common and user-correctable. Thermal switches are used in power supplies in case of overload, and also as thermostats, and overheat protection in some heating and cooling systems. They are found in virtually every refrigerator, microwave, clothes dryer, space heater, and many more appliances found throughout the home.
Another type of thermal switch is a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) thermistor; these thermistors have a "cutting off" temperature at which the resistance suddenly rises rapidly, limiting the current through the circuit. When used in conjunction with a thermistor relay, the PTC will switch off an electrical system at a desired temperature. Typical use is for motor overheat protection. These devices are not a true “switch” as they do not disengage completely and there is always some resistance across the switch.
Thermal switches are included in turn signals on older vehicles, some light fixtures, particularly with recessed lights, where excessive heat is most likely to occur. This may lead to "cycling" (flashing), where a light turns off and back on every few minutes. Flashing incandescent Christmas lights take advantage of this effect. Some flasher bulbs interrupt power when heated, while other twinkle/sparkle mini-bulbs momentarily shunt current around the filament.
Thermal switches are part of the normal operation of older fluorescent light fixtures, where they are the major part of the starter module.
GE trademarked the name "Guardette" for the thermal protection switches used on their refrigeration compressors.
Thermal switches on microprocessors often stop only the fetching of instructions to execute, reducing the clock rate to zero until a lower temperature is reached, while maintaining power to the cache to prevent data loss (although a second switch, with a higher triggering temperature, usually turns off even the cache and forces the computer to reboot). This mitigates the impact of programs resembling power viruses on the processor's longevity, while still accommodating their possible legitimate uses; it can also make overclocking possible with less risk.
Some thermal switches must be reset manually after having tripped. This type is used when an automatic and unattended restart would create a hazardous condition, such as sudden startup of a powerful motor without warning. These types of thermal cutouts are usually reset by pressing a push-button by hand or with a special tool.
A thermistor is a semiconductor type of resistor whose resistance is strongly dependent on temperature, more so than in standard resistors. The word thermistor is a portmanteau of thermal and resistor.
A thermostat is a regulating device component which senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.
Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.
A bimetallic strip or bimetal strip is a strip that consists of two strips of different metals which expand at different rates as they are heated. They are used to convert a temperature change into mechanical displacement. The different expansions force the flat strip to bend one way if heated, and in the opposite direction if cooled below its initial temperature. The metal with the higher coefficient of thermal expansion is on the outer side of the curve when the strip is heated and on the inner side when cooled.
In electronics and electrical engineering, a fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, thereby stopping or interrupting the current. It is a sacrificial device; once a fuse has operated, it is an open circuit, and must be replaced or rewired, depending on its type.
An antifuse is an electrical device that performs the opposite function to a fuse. Whereas a fuse starts with a low resistance and is designed to permanently break or open an electrically conductive path, an antifuse starts with a high resistance--an open circuit--and programming it converts it into a permanent electrically conductive path. This technology has many applications. Antifuses are best known for their use in mini-light style low-voltage Christmas tree lights.
A resettable fuse or polymeric positive temperature coefficient device (PPTC) is a passive electronic component used to protect against overcurrent faults in electronic circuits. The device is also known as a multifuse or polyfuse or polyswitch. They are similar in function to PTC thermistors in certain situations but operate on mechanical changes instead of charge carrier effects in semiconductors. These devices were first discovered and described by Gerald Pearson at Bell Labs in 1939 and described in US patent #2,258,958.
A storage heater or heat bank (Australia) is an electrical heater which stores thermal energy during the evening, or at night when electricity is available at lower cost, and releases the heat during the day as required. Alternatively, solar storage heaters are designed to store solar energy as heat, to be released during the night or other periods where it is required, often making it more cost effective than selling surplus electricity to the grid and buying it back at night.
A wax motor is a linear actuator device that converts thermal energy into mechanical energy by exploiting the phase-change behaviour of waxes. During melting, wax typically expands in volume by 5–20%.
Inrush current, input surge current, or switch-on surge is the maximal instantaneous input current drawn by an electrical device when first turned on. Alternating-current electric motors and transformers may draw several times their normal full-load current when first energized, for a few cycles of the input waveform. Power converters also often have inrush currents much higher than their steady-state currents, due to the charging current of the input capacitance. The selection of over-current-protection devices such as fuses and circuit breakers is made more complicated when high inrush currents must be tolerated. The over-current protection must react quickly to overload or short-circuit faults but must not interrupt the circuit when the inrush current flows.
An electronic component is any basic discrete electronic device or physical entity part of an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not to be confused with electrical elements, which are conceptual abstractions representing idealized electronic components and elements. A datasheet for an electronic component is a technical document that provides detailed information about the component's specifications, characteristics, and performance. Discrete circuits are made of individual electronic components that only perform one function each as packaged, which are known as discrete components, although strictly the term discrete component refers to such a component with semiconductor material such as individual transistors.
Auto-defrost, automatic defrost or self-defrosting is a technique which regularly defrosts the evaporator in a refrigerator or freezer. Appliances using this technique are often called frost free, frostless, or no-frost.
Electric heat tracing, heat tape or surface heating, is a system used to maintain or raise the temperature of pipes and vessels using heat tracing cables. Trace heating takes the form of an electrical heating element run in physical contact along the length of a pipe. The pipe is usually covered with thermal insulation to retain heat losses from the pipe. Heat generated by the element then maintains the temperature of the pipe. Trace heating may be used to protect pipes from freezing, to maintain a constant flow temperature in hot water systems, or to maintain process temperatures for piping that must transport substances that solidify at ambient temperatures. Electric trace heating cables are an alternative to steam trace heating where steam is unavailable or unwanted.
Electric heating is a process in which electrical energy is converted directly to heat energy. Common applications include space heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. An electric heater is an electrical device that converts an electric current into heat. The heating element inside every electric heater is an electrical resistor, and works on the principle of Joule heating: an electric current passing through a resistor will convert that electrical energy into heat energy. Most modern electric heating devices use nichrome wire as the active element; the heating element, depicted on the right, uses nichrome wire supported by ceramic insulators.
A fan heater, also called a blow heater, is a heater that works by using a fan to pass air over a heat source. This heats up the air, which then leaves the heater, warming up the surrounding room. They can heat an enclosed space such as a room faster than a heater without a fan, but like any fan, create a degree of noise.
The wax thermostatic element was invented in 1934 by Sergius Vernet (1899–1968). Its principal application is in automotive thermostats used in the engine cooling system. The first applications in the plumbing and heating industries were in Sweden (1970) and in Switzerland (1971).
An infinite switch, simmerstat, energy regulator or infinite controller is a type of switch that allows variable power output of a heating element of an electric stove. It is called "infinite" because its average output is infinitely variable rather than being limited to a few switched levels. It uses a bi-metallic strip conductive connection across terminals that disconnects with increased temperature. As current passes through the bimetal connection, it will heat and deform, breaking the connection and turning off the power. After a short time, the bimetal will cool and reconnect. Infinite switches vary the average power delivered to a device by switching frequently between on and off states. They may be used for situations that are not sensitive to such changes, such as the resistive heating elements in electric stoves and kilns.
A snowmelt system prevents the build-up of snow and ice on cycleways, walkways, patios and roadways, or more economically, only a portion of the area such as a pair of 2-foot (0.61 m)-wide tire tracks on a driveway or a 3-foot (0.91 m) center portion of a sidewalk, etc. It is also used to keep entire driveways and patios snow free in snow prone climates. The "snow melt" system is designed to function during a storm to improve safety and eliminate winter maintenance labor including shoveling, plowing snow and spreading de-icing salt or traction grit (sand). A snowmelt system may extend the life of the concrete, asphalt or under pavers by eliminating the use of salts or other de-icing chemicals, and physical damage from winter service vehicles. Many systems are fully automatic and require no human input to maintain a snow/ice-free horizontal surface.
A positive-temperature-coefficient heating element, or self-regulating heater, is an electrical resistance heater whose resistance increases significantly with temperature. The name self-regulating heater comes from the tendency of such heating elements to maintain a constant temperature when supplied by a given voltage.
Overheating is a phenomenon of rising temperatures in an electrical circuit. Overheating causes damage to the circuit components and can cause fire, explosion, and injury. Damage caused by overheating is usually irreversible; the only way to repair it is to replace some components.
