Hey I have a question. Theoretically could you have a switch in line that is turned off and on by a switch of diminished power? I'll try not to be too confusing. I have a picture attached.

 

A relay,

You apply a voltage and it closes or opens.

Best to describe what you're trying to achieve.

 

The goal of this idea, is to have a thinner gauge wire going from the primary switch to the secondary switch, thus saving copper wire (in large-scale application E.G. a house's circuitry ).

 

If you want to save wire, just make the control connection wireless.

 

If you want to save wire, just make the control connection wireless.

I guess the goal of this is to be environmentally conscious and save copper. While this not be economically feasible or environmentally sustainable, it is a interesting thought experiment on how to save resources.
I am not sure what materials are in a wireless control, so I am not sure whether or not the materials required are more or less ecologically sustainable than copper.

 

You're describing a relay, or contactor.

 

A relay would save copper but not power. unless it is a very high power device and the relay has a significant voltage drop across it.

 

The goal of this idea, is to have a thinner gauge wire going from the primary switch to the secondary switch, thus saving copper wire (in large-scale application E.G. a house's circuitry ).

Yeah, as mentioned a relay or on a larger scale handling up to a few hundred amps a contactor. A coil may draw an amp or less and the contactor may switch 200 amps or more. My generator for my residential home uses a 200 amp contactor to switch from power company mains to my generator power. Just a matter of what load you wish to switch, wired or wireless can all be done.

Ron

 

And if you want to get anal about power use, you can use a latching relay. You give a latching relay one pulse to change state (open/closed) and it stays there until you pulse it to the other state.

 

The standard in my industry is a 24 VAC transformer driving some relays. A two pole, 40 amp contactor, intended for 240 VAC load uses 1/4 amp of 24 VAC to fire its coil. That's a 1600:1 power gain and the wiring function is good to a few hundred feet.

It might be my age speaking, but I am skeptical of the idea that a remote control sender and receiver can be manufactured in a more ecological way than making the copper wire. Of course, when the range gets to some distance, the RF method will be better than the copper wire method because you can use a radio signal to click a relay from Fullerton to France a lot cheaper than laying a transatlantic cable. The math remaining is, "What distance is more ecological for RF than for copper wire" (and who needs to click a relay that far away)?

ps, I call a relay and a contactor by the same words because a contactor is just a big relay in my mind.

pss, By coincidence, there is presently a Thread about DC (one wire) power at a distance.
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/best-war-of-current-t-shirt-i-have-ever-seen.132557/