PushButtons and Indicator Lamps

Pushbutton switches are type of switches which consists of a simple electric mechanism or air switch mechanism to switch electricity on or off. They are usually made of plastic or metal and comes in many different shapes and sizes for industrial application. They provide basic commands, indication and monitoring functions for low voltage and medium voltage panels. They can also adapt to some functional needs such as control, signal indication, switching, self-locking and spring reset.

Pushbuttons, What Do They Do?

Pushbuttons can be designed illuminated and non-illuminated types with high protection class and switch capacity under severe conditions. IEC Standards define the meaning of certain colors for pushbuttons. They are intended to improve the safety of service personnel and to facilitate operation and maintenance of electrical installations and equipment.

Below table shows the importance of the colors of the pushbuttons with explanations according to standard DIN EN 60 204 (VDE 0113 Part 1): 06.93.

COLOR	MEANING	EXPLANATION
RED	Emergency	Activates in the event of a hazardous condition or emergency
YELLOW	Abnormal	Activates in the event of an abnormal condition
GREEN	Normal/Safe	Activates to initiate normal condition
BLUE	Mandatory	Activates for a condition requiring mandatory action
WHITE	No specific meaning assigned	For general initiation of functions except for emergency stop
BLACK	No specific meaning assigned	For general initiation of functions except for emergency stop

Indicator Lamps, What Do They Do?

Indicator lamps are optoelectronic devices which emit light to show the operating condition of an appliance with the colors. Every color has a meaning according to situation of control system. LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) or Neon lamps are mostly used as the light sources for indicator lamps according to application. LEDs are much more commonly used in low voltage and medium voltage panels because it has a longer operational life with low power consumption. But neon lamps are the alternative option instead of LED in some applications. Both LED and Neon indicator lamps are particularly suited to applications of 24V, 48V, 110V, 220V AC and DC with high efficiency use.

Indicator lamps are also known as signal lamps, signal lights, indicator lights, indicators, panel indicators or pilot lights in different terminologies. They are used in high range applications such as freezing, ventilation, cookers, machines, medical equipment, garden tools, HVAC, cleaning, irons and control panels.

Below table shows colors for indicator lamps and their meaning according to the standard DIN EN 60 204 (VDE 0113 Part 1): 06.93.

COLOR	MEANING	EXPLANATION
RED	Emergency	Activates in the event of a hazardous condition or emergency
YELLOW	Abnormal	Activates in the event of an abnormal condition
GREEN	Normal/Safe	Activates to initiate normal condition
BLUE	Mandatory	Activates for a condition requiring mandatory action
WHITE	No specific meaning assigned	For general initiation of functions except for emergency stop
BLACK	No specific meaning assigned	For general initiation of functions except for emergency stop
GREY	No specific meaning assigned	For general initiation of functions except for emergency stop