Explaination Of French Intermediate Switching!

[Forgery]

Help!!

trying to complete a job, in London for a French couple. At a late stage, two floors first fixed, the client wants to use a French make of accessories, Arnould (off shoot of Legrand).

Basically, they do not make an intermediate switch like ours but uses a system back at the CCU on the lighting circuit. This is a problem, as under floor heating is down etc etc.

Firstly, has anyone worked with this French system.

Secondly, is the French system basically an electronic device which controls one individual powered light circuit from its own mcb, not as I am using a switch fed system which powers a couple of individual light circuits off the one mcb.

Any usefull help gratly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Engineer54]

Yeah, and what your referring to are ''impulse'' relays normally called TL relays... they are mounted in the CU and are the same size as a MCB with a little black lever on the face. They are operated by switch plate push buttons. They tend to use them for every multi switched lighting circuit, over there!! One of the reasons why French CU/DB's are 3 x the size of the UK's CU'S ...lol!!!

 

[Forgery]

Thx for prompt reply.

From your reply, can I take it then that the unit in the CCU acts as an MCB as well ,and from what the distributor is saying a normal two way switch is used. However, how does the circuit link up ( strappers etc) and apart from getting power to the circuit can the wiring stay the same ?

Cheers

 

[Knobhead]

Not trying to be facetious but “the best of British” to you. It’s a crap system! I worked for a French company for 12 years, they wanted things their way, until they ran in to British stubbornness.

 

[Knobhead]

Thx for prompt reply.From your reply, can I take it then that the unit in the CCU acts as an MCB as well ,and from what the distributor is saying a normal two way switch is used. However, how does the circuit link up ( strappers etc) and apart from getting power to the circuit can the wiring stay the same ?Cheers

Forget strappers and conventional switches, have a look in the LeGrand catalogue!

 

[Engineer54]

No, ...it's not an MBC, it's just a latching relay. It requires a pulse to latch and a pulse to unlatch. you don't need a 2 way switches, in fact it wouldn't work. Impulse relays can operate the same light fitting(s) from several different switch locations, replaces 2 way and intermediate switching. Switch line(s) run from the CU to the push button(s) as do the feed to the light(s) all via these impulse relays. If you think of a stairwell lighting circuit arrangement without the timer function, that's basically how these things work...

 

[Engineer54]

Forget strappers and conventional switches, have a look in the LeGrand catalogue!

Or the Merlin Gerin catalogue, in fact any French electrical accessory manufacturers catalogue !!! lol!!

 

[Engineer54]

Not trying to be facetious but “the best of British” to you. It’s a crap system! I worked for a French company for 12 years, they wanted things their way, until they ran in to British stubbornness.

Wasn't La Farge was it ??

 

[Knobhead]

Or the Merlin Gerin catalogue, in fact any French electrical accessory manufacturers catalogue !!! lol!!

It’s still crap whatever label is on it!

 

[Engineer54]

It’s still crap whatever label is on it!

Agreed!!!

 

[Des 56]

Maybe if they had their lighting controlled this way on the Maginot line,its understandable how the Germans weren't seen nipping around the back of it in the dark then

 

[Forgery]

Thankyou all for your help.

The humour was well recieved also.....however I wont pass it on as I want them to pay the bill nice and promptly!!

Thanks again.

 

[High Tower]

System sounds like "Merde" to me !

 

[telectrix]

reminds me of a froggy once was belittling the blackpool tower, said the trifle tower was twice as big. then he went on about the marble arch, said the arc de trump was twice as big. i said. " had to be to let all them germans walk in in 1940

 

[Knobhead]

Why are all French boulevards tree lined? “So the Germans can march in the shade!” How do you stop a French tank? “Shoot the guy pushing it!”As I said I worked for a French company, I’ve a list of jokes a kilometre long. No E54 it wasn’t LaFarge, I can’t say who it was.