Given the large number of vehicle movements, even small savings add up to enormous amounts. With this in
mind, Galliker Transport AG began the construction of a modern Car House in 2017. It provides space for 4,500 new cars and the central storage and processing of imports means that interim storage at other locations can be avoided. 380,000 truck kilometres and the emission of 350 tonnes of CO2
are saved.
The Car House offers exclusively covered parking spaces inside the building and on the roof under solar
panels used as cover. With economical lighting that can be integrated into the ecology of the building, the
resource conservation concept has been pursued further. The use of LED luminaires has imposed itself,
although handling a large quantity of LEDs is a challenge. When the luminaires are switched on, a very
high current peak is generated for a short period. A small DC voltage is required for the correct operation
of an LED. In most lamps, this is generated from the 230V mains voltage by an integrated power supply unit
or LED driver. The switching power supplies used in this process represent a capacitive load that generates
inrush currents of up to 100 times the nominal current for a few microseconds. When several LED luminaires
are connected in parallel, the inrush currents add up. The relays used in switching actuators are also adversely
affected by the high inrush currents. The mechanical contacts can wear out more quickly, or in the worst case
can even stick and result in permanent illumination. This is not the case when using the CHI14/34 highperformance relays from ComatReleco. These relays are designed to handle high inrush currents. They can handle a current peak of 800 A for 200 µs and handle 165 A for 20 ms.
The operational reliability and the long service life of the relays convinced the panel manufacturer Eichmann
Tableaux AG to use the CHI14/34 high inrush current relays to control the lighting in Galliker Transport AG’s
Car House.