Timers and Controls
Standing the test of time W
Matt Parton, product development manager with ESP and Sangamo, takes a look at the time switches product category and how it is evolving to meet demand for smarter solutions.
e are living in a time of rapid technological development, with smart homes and the internet of things seeming to dominate the sector. With the speed of this change and the huge number of smart devices and products being developed, it can be a challenge for electrical professionals to keep up to date with the latest new products and trends. It can also be easy to overlook the traditional products that are still in demand.
Sangamo continues to see demand for the traditional products in its time switch range, but the company has continued to develop the range to meet demand for smarter products and offer wholesalers a choice of products that will allow them to upsell to their customers.
Traditional options
Sangamo has been manufacturing Round Pattern Time Switches at its Port Glasgow factory for over 65 years, and has sold over 11 million units in that time. The installation of a Round Pattern Time Switch (RPTS) used to be a regular job for many electricians and, despite the electro-mechanical time switches being less common today, Sangamo still sells over a thousand units each month, both as replacements and as brand new installations.
The Round Pattern Time Switch is trusted by installers for a wide variety of applications, not just because of its reliability, but its ease of use. The simple dial and levers make setting the switch up for daily fixed timings a breeze with no complicated menu options to navigate through. All Round Pattern Time Switches are also 20 Amp rated, providing a more robust switch than most other products on the market.
Sangamo regularly hears from customers with Round Pattern Time Switches still going strong after 40 and 50 years. When they eventually need a new switch, they reasonably assume, because of its age, that it might not be possible to get a direct like for like replacement. However, because the original design has never needed to be updated, an RPTS you buy today is completely interchangeable with one bought decades ago. The switches are split into four categories: the Basic ‘black dial’ 24-hour time clock for simple on and off switching of up to 20A; the Standard 24- hour ‘red dial’ switch with added 100 hour battery
reserve; the Solar Range, specially designed for lighting applications, and the Digital Range, which is the newest addition and combines the high capacity and reliability of the electro-mechanical models but provides full seven-day programming.
DIN Rail and Panel Mounted Time Switches
Other options include DIN rail and panel mounted digital time switches that include NFC capability. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a low powered wireless communication technology
32 | electrical wholesalerMarch 2025
that allows devices to exchange information from just a few centimetres away. Using the free Sangamo Connect app on an Android NFC enabled smartphone allows you to upload a created programming schedule; download an existing schedule to store or amend, as well as transfer programmes from one switch to another. This enhanced capability makes this form of time switch so much easier to program and has been exceedingly well received by the industry. Another strong feature of the NFC range of timers is that they will switch up to 600 watts of LED lighting.
ewnews.co.uk
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