Digital switch to control high power lines

Hi ,
I am working on a power overload warning systems project for which i am in need of a switch that controls a high power line based on an external digital input .

For example : the switch on the path of a 240V line , and also has an external input line which recieves binary input. the switch has to close if the input is 1 (5V) and open if 0 .

is there any switch available in the market which the meets the above requirement ? if not can anyone please help design it ?

It sounds like you need a relay.

A regular mechanical relay will take more than a logic signal to drive it. You can have the logic signal turn on a transistor with the transistor driving the relay.

A solid state relay may also be useful here. These have essentially opto-isolator front ends, so look like LEDs. You could possibly drive it directly from your logic signal depending on how voltage that can source, or again use a transistor in between to provide more drive capability.

The solid state relay will be faster, can come in versions that synch to the power line zero crossings, and will be smaller. The mechanical relay will drop less voltage to the load when on and therefore heat up less due to load current.

Take a look at this "datasheet":http://www.ia.omron.com/data_pdf/data_sheet/g9h_ds_csm175.pdf and see if this part would work for you.

thanks alot , i'll check those out and let you know if thats what i was lokking for . I really appreciate your concern to reply me .

i havent gone through the datasheet fully , but i feel that switch seems too bulky for this project. are there any other ways of acheiving this control at a much lesser cost and size ?