Look For These Features To Avoid Damaging Your Power Supply

Many of today’s power components come equipped with built-in protection features that will turn the device off when fault conditions occur. They can also include remote status signals that alert users to certain operating conditions or functions that may require adjustment or regulation. This blog post provides a summary of some of the most common built-in protections and status signals found in power components:

• Overtemperature Protection. When internal components heat a DC/DC converter beyond a set temperature, this control shuts the converter down to protect both the converter and downstream components against failure.
• Short Circuit Protection. This feature monitors the output power rails and shuts off the output power when a short circuit occurs.
• Power Fail. A signal that indicates a loss of main input power or a drop in voltage below a threshold where the power supply will not provide adequate power. The converter will continue to operate for a few milliseconds to store data or to allow the system’s backup power to take over before shutdown.
• Power Good. As a system powers up, the Power Good feature will prevent the system from operating until a set output voltage is achieved. This thwarts any potential damage that can happen when running at an improper voltage.
• Inhibit and Enable. There may be times when the user needs to take action to turn the output voltage on or off without using a relay. Specifically, Inhibit induces the user to turn off the output voltage, while Enable means the user must turn on the output voltage.
• Remote ON/OFF. Many devices require the DC/DC converter to be enabled or disabled intermittently, such as components that run on standby power. This function can also turn the converter off to protect against damaging inrush currents. The way you implement remote ON/OFF will vary depending on the converter and its logic. This blog post provides more information about remote ON/OFF including the types of logic involved.

AC/DC Power Supplies Offer Monitoring and Built-in Protection Features

You can find some of these monitoring and protection features in our new UIA600 AC/DC switching power supply. This 600-W unit offers input voltage ranges of 90 to 264V AC or 120 to 370V DC. It also includes a 12V DC output voltage, power factor of >0.95 and efficiency up to 93 percent. The power supply’s Power Good output voltage range is from 3.7 to ~7.5V, and the device turns off from 0 to ~1V output voltage. It also offers remote control protection, configured as +RC / -RC: Power ON=open; Power OFF=short.

Additional built-in safeguards include overtemperature, overload and short circuit protection, and each activates the auto-recovery feature when the condition is resolved. The UIA600 also features a current share function to provide more current to power a load while using a constant voltage.

Get Started Today

To make sure your power supply doesn’t suffer harm from adverse conditions, remember to look over the manufacturer’s datasheet for built-in protections and status signals. With the right adjustments and regulation, both the power supply and downstream components can avoid damage. Our UIA600 AC/DC switching power supply offers many of these protective features, along with a current-sharing function for parallel connections. Our engineers are ready to assist you in selecting the best switching power supply for your application.

For more information about Daburn Electronics’ Polytron Devices UIA600 AC/DC switching power supplies, download our datasheet.