Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1394684
CONNECTED HOMES & INTELLIGENT BUILDINGS TE products support home automation product development Home automation advancements are transforming TE customers' products, and will continue to do so. Consider what thermostats looked like 30 years ago: They were mostly thermo-electro-mechanical devices that used a bimetallic element to switch heat or cooling on and off. Fast forward to today: The inside of a modern thermostat is starting to look like the inside of a cell phone with new technology including TE's connectivity and sensor products – for example, connected thermostats often incorporate multiple printed circuit boards loaded with electronic components, passive devices, sensors, fine pitch connectors, and micro-sized wire to board connectors for tiny battery back-up packs. Switching and controlling HVAC equipment is critical, so low-profile relays are often incorporated. For user interfacing, mini tactile switches are often used for selector or reset buttons. Another example: The ubiquitous power receptacle found on every home's walls. This technology, which spent nearly 100 years largely unchanged, is now being replaced with a connected outlet containing power relays, antennas, control circuitry and, of course, a reset button. Micro-sized connectors and switches Through TE's vast product offering, the company is able to provide micro-sized connectors and switches for the smallest sensor assemblies. Micro-sizing matters: Consumers want their home automation devices to be as small and unobtrusive as possible. This means the internal components of these devices need to be proportionally small, which is further complicated by additional functionality packaged into these devices. For example, occupancy sensors may also contain ambient light level sensors, a microphone, or other sensing/monitoring elements. High-current capability TE also provides high-current connectors, switches, and switching relays into HVAC equipment and appliances, enabling their connectivity and control in the automated home. Connected, electronic devices are inherently low voltage or low power, and they need to have relays to switch the higher voltage/higher power loads typical in the home. These loads can be anything from a coffee maker or toaster plugged into a connected wall outlet, to a boiler controller wired to a connected thermostat. Breadth of choice for product designers TE's product portfolio is comprehensive – allowing designers to find exactly what they need for their unique ideas and products. At some point in almost every electronic design, connectors and sensors are needed to provide and route power and/or signals into or out of a circuit. 1. IR Occupancy Sensor 2. SMT Tactile Switches 3. 0.8mm FPC Header 4. EMI Shielding 5. IM Relays 6. Humidity Sensor 7. DIP Switch 8. RTD Temp Sensor 9. Passives (capacitors, PTC's resistors, inductors) 10. Dual-Band Antenna 11. 1mm BtoB Stacking Connector Figure 1: Connected thermostat with TE components.