Hey guys. I am driving a 24v AC solenoid with the use of a optotriac and a triac. Before i actually go ahead with this i would like to understand if i need to use a snubber circuit or diodes in some arrangement to protect the triac from high voltages produced by the solenoid when its magnetic field collapses.
There is some confusion from my side because this is AC and i do not have lots of knowledge on AC at all. Then secondly there are many opinions on google where people say if its AC you do not need protection for ac unless the switching times are critical. In my case switching times are not critical so if i switch the solenoid on or off and it goes on or off after a second or so that is fine as long as it goes on or off.
If i need a scrubber circuit (as i understand this is a capacitor and a resistor in parallel with the solenoid) what size capacitor and resistor do i need? also will the alternating current not destroy the capacitor when the polarity switches? i know that capacitors have a + and - side to them. or must i use a capacitor that is not sensitive to polarity?
If i must use diodes how must they be arranged and which diodes can i use?