Power Relays

The electrification of everything.

Replace your large, slow, unreliable EM relays with the Ideal Switch. Enable a new era of connected and better protected places (hospitals, airports), things (trains, manufacturing robots), services (telcom), and power generation/management/storage (solar, wind, grid, battery).

MM9100

Power Relay Prototype

The MM9000-series uses massive arrays of miniaturized mechanical switches configured in parallel to handle larger currents, all while maintaining stable operation by sharing current between devices.

An integrated MOSFET assist feature helps ensure safe operation during closing or opening of the switch to prevent arcing. The MOSFET assist is only active during state transitions and in steady state the MOSFET assist is de-activated.

We have developed a Power Relay Prototype Platform so that select customers can evaluate the potential of the MM9000-series.

View the MM9100 Product Brief >

A traditional power EMR compared to a Menlo power relay.

A traditional solid-state relay compared to a Menlo power relay.

Power Relay Comparison

The low losses and high power handling of an EM relay, with the speed and reliability of a solid-state switch.

	Menlo Power Relay Product	SSR Relay	EM Relay	Key Benefits
Size	<2cm x 1cm x 0.2cm 0.4 cm³ (no heat sink)	4.5cm x 5.7cm x 2.2cm 56.4 cm³ (no heat sink) 225.9 cm³ (with heat sink)	4.8cm x 3.5cm x 3.9cm 65.5 cm²	• 99% reduction in volume • No heavy heat sink
Weight	<10 g	320 g	85 g	• 90% reduction in weight • No heavy heat sink
Turn on/off time	20/10 µs	75/100 µs	30 ms	• 5x faster than SSR • >1000x faster than EMR
Power consumption	<5 mW	<60 mW	1.5W	• 80% reduction from SSR • 150x reduction from EMR
Lifetime	10B operations, decades of life	>10B operations, decades of life	100k operations	• Lifetime similar to SS technology
Features	Current Sense & over-current protection			• Extra features for monitoring and protection
Ratings	240V / 10A DC & AC	200V / 10A DC	240V / 10A AC	• Scalable to higher V/I

High-power impact.

Switches do the heavy lifting to power our world, but current technology (transfer switches, contractors, and industrial circuit breakers, for example) are bulky, power-hungry and slow.

Reduced Size & Weight

Go from multiple bulky circuit breakers to small Ideal Switch boards. This means more than 85% reduction in size and weight for a higher density and smaller footprint.

Reduced Switching Speed

Go from 3-20ms to <10µs arc-free switching. 1,000x faster for safer, more efficient power management.

Reduced Power Consumption

Get rid of high power MOSFET switches. Go from 1.5W EMR, <60W SSR to <10W. That is 150x less power than EMRs, and 80% reduction from SSR for money saved.

Increased Power Rating

High-power handling of EMR in combination with the speed and reliability of SS. Works with all standard voltage ratings.

Increased Reliability

Go from <100K EMR cycles to 10B cycles for the lifetime of a solid-state switch.

Enabling Technology

Turn big things off when sensors signal they’re not needed, like street lights, production lines or building HVAC.

“The Ideal Switch is a tiny, efficient, reliable micro-mechanical switch with unmatched RF-performance and, counterintuitively, high-power handling of 1,000s of watts.”

TONY FADELL
FOUNDER OF NEST
PRINCIPAL AT FUTURE SHAPE