Modern instrumentation can help reveal sources of power dissipation problems where electric motors are tightly integrated with their controls and test points are hard to find. KEN JOHNSON TELEDYNE LECROY LARGE integral-horsepower motors account for about 90% of the electricity consumed by all motors. But large motors make up only 10% of all motor sales. […]
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Energy efficiency in LLC Resonant Conversion Topologies
Designers are now investigating exotic power supply topologies in a quest for efficient operation. RICK BARNETT, ED FONTANA, JIM MONTGOMERY, EMBEDDED SOLUTIONS, GE INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS BUSINESS IT’S no secret that power converters increasingly emphasize energy efficiency. For example, 115-Vac computer power supplies must exhibit a 94% energy efficiency at 50% of their rated load to […]
Energy efficient doesn’t mean cost efficient
LEE TESCHLER EXECUTIVE EDITOR I ONCE had a root cellar illuminated by a single incandescent light bulb, the kind of bulb that is being phased out thanks to energy efficiency regulations. I would use that light bulb perhaps 15 minutes over the span of a year. When it burned out, DOE regulators would have had […]
Top power electronics threads on EDAboard.com – September
(editor’s note: Intrigued by these power electronics problems? Have a question or optional solution? Then click the “Read more” link and follow the conversation on EDAboard.com or log in to EDAboard and participate in the forum thread.) Small vs. larger SMT ceramic capacitors and internal inductance? – We are doing a 65A, 1V5 SMPS using […]
Don’t put batteries in the crumple zone,
says automotive expert
Some of the most pressing problems associated with powering electric vehicles have more to do with where batteries sit in the chassis than how much juice they provide. So says Bob Galyen, CTO of lithium-ion battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) and President of Business Development Amperex Technology Limited in China. Galyen also chairs […]
Inverter/UPS supplier launches new website
AMETEK Solidstate Controls (SCI), a leader in highly customized uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), today announced the launch of its newly redesigned website: www.solidstatecontrolsinc.com. The redesigned site provides more user-friendly platform that betters serves the needs of SCI’s partners and customers. “AMETEK Solidstate Controls greatly values the relationships it has established with its partners and customers. […]
RMS power detector operates up to 30 GHz
Linear Technology introduces the LTC5596, a high-frequency, wideband and high dynamic range RMS power detector that provides accurate, true power measurement of RF and microwave signals independent of modulation and waveforms. The LTC5596 responds in an easy to use log-linear 29mV/dB scale to signal levels from–37dBm to –2dBm, at accuracy better than ±1dB error over […]
More efficient transformers could
come from interferometry studies
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland have used a technique called neutron grating interferometry to observe magnetic domains as they establish magnetic fields inside the iron core of transformers. The researchers say these observations are a significant step towards understanding how transformers work and towards developing more efficient transformers in the future. Neutron […]
Thermal metamaterials could help
use waste heat from factories
Researchers have found a way to control the thermal emissions of high-temperature radiation in a way that could lead to the efficient harvesting of waste heat from power plants and factories. The technique uses a thermal metamaterial – nanoscale layers of tungsten and hafnium oxide –to suppress thermal emissions in one portion of the spectrum […]
Silicon-carbide inverters hit energy efficiency heights
An inverter constructed with off-the-shelf silicon-carbide power modules transfers 99% of its input energy to the motors it drives, say designers at the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at NC State. This is about 2% higher than the best silicon-based inverters under normal conditions. The new SiC-based inverter is also […]