Different types of switches are used in different places. For example, we use switches in our households to control a light or decrease or increase the speed of a fan. Consequently, some switches are used within the electricity production sector as well, mainly within substations where the flow of electricity is to be controlled through various methods, and for those switches are used.
For this sub-part of the article, we shall be going through different types of gang switches within a household setting. For that, you first need to know what “gang” operated term means.
The term “gang” refers to the number of switches on the plate. Depending on how they work, they are also referred to as rockers, throws, or dimmers, but they all refer to the number of light switches on the plate.
For people who do not know, a dimmer switch changes the direction of electrical flow. Therefore, it is often used to dim or brighten a light, or most of the time, it increases or decreases a fan’s speed.
These dimmers can be placed on a switchboard as a gang-operated one as well, with two dimmers placed on a board. Apart from that, these switches can also have a normal on/off switch attached.
A rocker switch is normally what we refer to as an on and off switch.
We will now be going through the different types of gang switches that exist within a household, what they do to be called such, what sort of switches can be used, and for what reason.
1 Gang Switch
These switches are attached to one board. Depending on your requirements, these can either be a dimmer switch or a simple on and off switch. However, it is just one switch attached to a board or a plate.
2 Gang Switch
These kinds of switches have two sorts of options, you can place a regular on and off switch, but you can also use a dimmer with it, and an on and off switch would cut off the supply of electricity to the appliances or light or even a fan, while the dimmer shall control the electrical flow to the device being used.
Sometimes two dimmers can be used together to operate two different attached appliances.
Multiple Gang Switches
In multiple gang switches, as the name implies, more than two or three switches can be placed upon the requirements of the household or room. These have a board with multiple switches for multiple lights or appliances in the room.
These could be used to control the outflow of electricity to everything singularly in a room, and sometimes they come with a dimmer switch and a rocker switch to be paired up differently based on the requirements of the individuals.
Types Of Gang Switches In A Substation
Now we move into the next part of gang switches. As stated before, these switches are used within a commercial, electricity-producing sector. They are mainly used in substations to regulate the electrical flow or entirely cut them off.
Different switches are used to play out different features, which shall be discussed below, along with their purposes.
There are multiple types of gang-operated switch used at a substation, and for that, we will have to know what a substation is and what is used within it to earn that name.
What Is A substation
Electrical substations conduct several crucial tasks in addition to converting voltage from high to low or vice versa. An electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system include a substation. Electricity may pass via several substations at various voltage levels between the generating plant to the customer.
Transformers may be used at a substation to adjust the voltage between high and lower distribution voltages or to connect two different transmission voltages.
Disconnect Switch
A gang-operated, air-break disconnect switch is a switch that is most frequently used in a small to medium substation. “Air-break” refers to the switch operating in the air rather than another medium, like oil, and “gang-operated” refers to the fact that the three separate switches for each phase are operated collectively from a single control.
This switch’s function is to cut off the substation’s connection to the incoming line, not to cut off the transformer from the load. It resembles a large safety switch without the capacity to break a load.
High Voltage Power Fuses
If the transformer has an internal fault or short-circuit, these fuses block the flow of current. Low voltage protection equipment prevents overloads brought on by faults or short circuits on the substation’s distribution side. They are typically up to 6 feet long.
Transmission level circuit breakers
They are used when a substation needs to remotely switch the transmission circuits for incoming or outgoing signals. Additionally, high voltage power fuses may be replaced with them.
Load Break Switches
By manually shifting their contacts at the proper speed to close or open the current, load break switches, and switch the current. It is subjected to mechanical, thermal, and dielectric stressors during the switching operation.
High voltage circuit breakers are made using a set of contacts submerged in a tank of insulating oil. The contacts open or shut when engaged, enabling electricity to flow or stop it. To stop electricity from flowing, the insulating oil refreshes the arc created by the opened connections.
However, an insulating gas is used in place of oil in many modern circuit switchers and circuit breakers. This change has helped avoid oil leaks. Therefore it has proven its benefit.
Conclusion
The switches and their definitions were provided for your ease and further broken down so that you could find the answer you were looking for.
These categories were provided to make it easier for you to find data in household switches or even commercial-use switches by bringing in substations and what sorts of switches are used in them, and what their purposes are of making things clearer for you.
As stated above, there are different switches for electrical work used in different places, and for that reason, both the customer-based sector and the commercial-based sector were discussed to make you understand what these switches are and to further help you differentiate between regular normal use switches and the ones used in substations for electricity moderation and production.
