Temperature Sensors - Thermostats - Mechanical

315000200522 is an analogue mechanical thermostat device which has wide application area in many temperature sensitive areas. It works on the principle of thermal expansion: when a material is heated, it expands; when cooled, it contracts. This principle is applied to the thermostat in order to control the environment temperature. The thermostat consists of a ceramic resistor element, a bimetallic element, a pair of contacts, and a spring.

The resistor element in the thermostat works as a heat source. When the environment temperature rises, the increased heat expands the ceramic element, and when the environmental temperature drops, the reduced heat contracts the ceramic element. This change in size causes a corresponding shift in its resistance, which in turn controls the amount of current flowing in the bimetallic element.

The bimetallic element is made from two strips of metal, usually steel and copper. These two strips are mounted in close contact with each other and contain electrical contacts. When the current flowing through the bimetallic element is increased, the two metals expand with different rates of expansion, thus creating a curved shape. This curved shape then bends the spring part which controls the switch contacts.

When the environment temperature rises, the curved shape of the bimetallic element is shifted and the spring is bent, which brings the switch contacts closer together. This eventually causes electricity to flow from one contact to the other and activate the circuit. Conversely, when the environmental temperature drops, the curved shape of the bimetallic element contracts, causing the spring to become less curved, which separates the contacts and thus serves as the off switch.

The 315000200522 thermostat therefore uses the principle of thermal expansion to sense and control temperature. It’s a compact, robust and efficient device that functions without external connections and power sources. It is usually used for controlling commercial space heaters, industrial ovens, coolers, conditioners and so on. Moreover, it offers a wide range of temperature settings for specific control applications.