By Suzana Jankuloska, Aluminum Electrolytic Product Manager at KEMET Corp Electrolytic capacitors optimized for low internal inductance can help reduce the cost of industrial power-conversion applications while increasing efficiency, performance, and reliability. As the automation of manufacturing and assembly processes continues to become more widespread, driven by emerging trends such as Industry 4.0 and the […]
FAQ
Under the hood of PV inverters
One of the advantages of photovoltaic (PV) energy is that it is inherently modular. Unlike many other energy sources, it allows the implementation of small-, medium- and large-scale generation systems, ranging from portable and rooftop systems to large multi-megawatt PV farms. System requirements, performance specifications, regulations, and even the economics behind the different system sizes, […]
PV module specifications and performance parameters
The nameplate ratings on photovoltaic (PV) panels and modules summarize safety, performance, and durability specifications. Safety standards include UL1730, UL/IEC61730, and UL7103, a recent standard for building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Safety standards ensure that PV modules demonstrate non-hazardous failure modes. Performance standards include IEC 61215, which specifies requirements for the design qualification and type approval […]
Trends in photovoltaic energy conversion
Photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion (solar cells) is a rapidly growing and changing market. This article will dig into various trends that propel the increasing use of solar cells in applications of all sizes, from small portable devices to MW-sized utility-scale installations. These trends include the continued improvement in cost and efficiency for a variety of […]
A tradeoff case study: Sizing the current-sense resistor, Part 2
The conceptually simple idea to determine current by measuring voltage across a known resistor shows the subtle nature of design tradeoffs. Part 1 of this article looked at one important aspect of the choice of resistor value in current-sensing applications, but it was only the electrical impact. However, the thermal impact related to resistor I2R […]
A tradeoff case study: Sizing the current-sense resistor, Part 1
The conceptually simple idea to determine current by measuring voltage across a known resistor shows the subtle nature of design tradeoffs. There’s probably no phrase that misrepresents the realities of engineering design other than “hey, that should be no big deal.” Even simple-looking design decisions are often not so simple. The reality is that a […]
Basics of board-mounted dc/dc converter reliability
The reliability of board-mounted dc/dc converters is important to understand and quantify. It’s a measure of the frequency of system or device failures as a function of time. Reliability is the observed failure rate and is defined as either the time between two failures (in hours), called the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), or the […]
EMC/EMI design and the use of board-mount dc/dc converters
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are system-level considerations that have implications for power system design, especially when multiple board-mounted dc/dc converters are used in a distributed power architecture (DPA). EMC/EMI is a multidimensional consideration and includes differential- and common-mode noise on both the input and output of the converter radiated and conducted noise […]
Thermal management considerations for board-mounted dc/dc converters
System-level thermal design is equally important to the electrical specifications of board-mounted dc/dc converters. And the growing use of variations on a distributed power architecture (DPA) increases the complexity of thermal design. A single multiple-output ac/dc power supply is used to power the various loads in a conventional power architecture. The use of a centralized […]
PMBus 2.0 expanding PMBus for future system needs: Virtual Interview, part 2 of 2
We are here today with Bob White, the PMBus power management protocol’s originator, long time chair of the PMBus specification working group, and current editor of the PMBus and SMBus specifications. Bob is the principal author of the PMBus specifications and continues to participate in the PMBus Specification Working Group. He is a well-known speaker […]
