High-voltage DC relays to limit charging current

Omron Electronic Components Europe has launched g5PZ-X, a small-footprint DC power relay that saves PCB space without sacrificing performance.

The G5PZ-X is ideal for power-on protection circuits or for controlling devices such as energy storage systems (ESS) for solar panels or vehicle-to-home (V2H) charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs).

Andries de Bruin, European Product Marketing Manager at Omron said: "The market for electric vehicles and renewable energy generation, like solar cells, is growing rapidly. However, the designers of these devices and systems are faced with the challenge of reducing the power supply while increasing the energy storage capacity.The new G5PZ-X features Omron's arc switching technology and offers powerful, reliable, high-capacity bidirectional DC switching in a small space. "

A single G5PZ-X relay with dimensions as low as 15.2 mm in width x 26.4 mm in length covers 200 VDC/20 A. However, two relays can be connected in series to switch currents up to 400VDC/20A. This level of performance can protect sensitive components from very short peak loads before the circuit stabilises, or help shut down the main circuit. As a pair, the G5PZ-X relay offers comparable performance to the nearest competitor, but is shorter and flatter (26.4 mm long x 29.5 mm high).