kekon
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I always have many doubts on what would be better: triac or relay. These would be used for switching 230VAC devices such as flourescent bulbs (with "electronic transformer"), inductive loads and heaters. The first idea that comes to mind is to use relays as they can withstand surge voltages and currents better than triacs. When it comes to triacs only ones with zerro-crossing detect circuit are taken into account. The main issue with triacs is over-current protection. As one knows very fast fuses are desirable to protects triacs. However, there is no guarantee that the fuse will blow faster than the triac will be destroyed. Tracs have one advantage in comparison to relays which is much longer life span (if working conditions don't exceed maximum ratings). So, i'm confused what to use: triac or relay ?