Need help designing / understanding this 'circuit'

[bradleyheathhays]

I'm a novice builder of whatever I can imagine with not a lot of formal training in electronics, but I follow directions well so I imagine I have a good chance of pulling this off with the right advice.

Here's the deal...

Keeping it simple, I need to turn on electricity to a 1500 watt device (heater) when a mechanical circuit I've made is closed. But I don't want to run 1500 watts through the wire I've used to create the mechanical circuit. so I'm writing in for advice on how I should go about doing this.

The design is that once air is ran through a vent, a flap is actuated which moves and creates contact with two wires, and I need to figure out how I can convert these two wires coming into contact into turning on power to a 1500 watt heater (without running 1500 watts of current through the two wires on the vent flap. So is what I'm talking about here called a 'relay?'

Like I was saying I'm now trained in electronics so I would need somewhat detailed instructions on how to go about making this happen.

Thanks for your time I'm all ears!

 

[alec_t]

Welcome to ETO!
The simplest solution would be to use a lever-actated suitably-rated microswitch to switch the heater directly.
If your heater is mains powered, take all necessary safety precautions. Mains voltage can KILL you.

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

Yes, it will look something like this.

You can get a relay for AC if not using a battery.

 

[Rich D.]

That is pretty much such a complete answer that there isn't much to add, but I did think of something:

You can use much less voltage/current on your switch if you can find a nice solid-state relay. They do cost a bit more but the control input works with such a low voltage and current that a small battery could be used to avoid a 2nd power source and it's wires. The traditional coil-relay often needs many 10's to a few hundred milliAmps to remain on. Solid-state relays usually are designed to switch at the zero-crossing point of the AC line, so that can reduce switching noise/transient spikes on the power lines. Of course you do get that satisfying "click" when a traditional relay switches, especially if it is mounted to a solid surface.

 

[dr pepper]

Welcome to eto bradley.
You can get relay modules and solid state relays from ebay if you look.
Take care though if using an imported one, you'll need to over rate it as current ratings tend to be optimistic.