A time-delay relay is an extremely useful tool in very large, industrial-type equipment that would take a huge amount of energy if they started up immediately, rather than slowly as with this type of relay. Time-delay, or time-release relays, allow necessary actions to happen at specific times in an electrical apparatus because they, in essence, act as a timer. Time delay relays and solid-state timers are used to provide the desired delay and timing functions.
Time-delay relay contacts must be specified not only as either normally-open or normally-closed but whether the delay operates in the direction of closing or in the direction of opening. A time-delay relay is an extremely useful tool in very large, industrial-type equipment that would take a huge amount of energy if they started up immediately, rather than slowly as with this type of relay.
Typically, a time delay relay is triggered either by opening or closing a circuit or by providing an input current. Time-delay, or time-release relays, allow necessary actions to happen at specific times in an electrical apparatus because they, in essence, act as a timer. The purpose of time-delay relays is to start or stop currents from moving in coils and armatures, the moving parts of electrical mechanisms. They are designed to allow electrical circuits to release at certain times.