Vehicle Relays Turn to Electronics

With the rise of energy-saving and emission-reduction concepts, US and European automotive brand factories gradually adopted solid-state relays instead of traditional mechanical relays in their switching power supply systems to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce vehicle weight, leading to safer and more comfortable driving experience. .

Jerome Py, senior marketing manager of Infineon Automotive Asia Pacific Regional Center, said that the demand for energy saving and emission reduction will lead to the replacement of mechanical relays by automotive solid-state relays.

Jerome Py, Senior Marketing Manager of Infineon Automotive Semiconductor Asia Pacific Regional Center, said that since 2012, European car regulations have stipulated that the car's CO2 emissions per kilometer cannot exceed 130 grams. At present, many high-end car models cannot meet this standard; However, if the mechanical relay of the switching power supply system is changed to a solid state relay, the power consumption will be reduced from 200 mA to 3 mA, which will help to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, solid state relays have gradually gained Tier 1 relay manufacturers and Depot's favor.

On the other hand, because a relay box contains between ten and fifteen relays, most of the automotive brand factories are unwilling to completely replace the relay box with an embedded electronic system under the consideration of cost and manufacturing complexity; while the solid-state relay still employs machinery. The appearance and package of the relay, and the simple and independent electronic subsystem, can be directly inserted into the relay box, which can make the electromechanical integration system more efficient. Now it has been imported by many American and European depots.

At the same time, the life cycle of mechanical relays is about 100,000 times at this stage, and the number of solid state relays can be switched and activated up to one million times. In addition to improving the service life of the car's main switch system and wiper and door systems , And the electrification of the switch system can minimize the operating sound of the wipers and doors, increase the reliability of the system, as well as the user's convenience and comfort.

According to Py analysis, the global automobile shipments are about 80 million units per year. An average of 10 to 20 relays must be installed on one vehicle. The estimated total solid-state relay demand will reach 16 billion in the future; According to a number of ongoing relay projects for relay manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers, the solid-state relay market will grow rapidly in the next 2-3 years.