Getting Started
One of the most common method of using a rocker switch is on a light switch, but they are in quite a few other devices and applications as well including surge protectors and appliances. It is possible to change existing switches and turn them into rocker switchers.
These sorts of switches are advantageous to many types of applications because they have a relatively small profile and they require actual manual manipulation in order to activate. Because of the nature of the rocker switch, they work well with appliances, tools, lights, and more. Large rocker switches that are easy to manipulate are helpful for those who do not have fine motor control, as they would have to do if the device had a toggle switch instead.
The rocker switch received its name because of the way in which it works. The user will rock the switch in one direction or the other, which will open or close the circuit. These sorts of switches will generally have an up and down motion, but a side-to-side motion is possible as well, depending on the device and the location of the switch. In the case of a surge protector, they have a back and forth motion since they are on the floor, but the general conceit is the same. They simply rock back and forth.
What Differentiates a Rocker Switch from Another Switch?
Rocker switches have an on and an off position, and they break the electrical circuit to interrupt the current just as other switches do. The rocker switches are very simple though, when compared with other types of switches. The thing that makes the switches unique those is the rocker property of the actuator. You do not have to turn a knob, and it is even simpler to operate even than a toggle switch, which is very similar. Simply rocking the switch back and forth will open or close the circuit.
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