Electrical Industry News for February 2024
5G base stations are set to grow exponentially in number along with associated energy consumption, so providing power efficiently is important. This article discusses the subject and suggests some power module solutions that offer high power density and reliable performance in the base station environment. Rollout of 5G Rollout of 5G is well underway, with coverage on track for one-third of the world’s population by 2025, according to the GSMA. Major cell phone manufacturers have launch...
Axpo Iberia has signed a series of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Aquila Capital, an international investment company focusing on renewable energies. In a major milestone for the Axpo subsidiary’s PPA business, Aquila Capital will supply it with 100% renewable energy generated in four solar plants in Portugal. The long-term PPAs have a competitive price structure and a duration of between five and seven years. Axpo Iberia will purchase renewable energy from the four solar plants, w...
RECOM has launched an eighth-brick DC/DC converter series with 9-60 VDC input and optional 12, 24, or 48 V outputs rated at 150 W. The RPA150E series has an industry-standard pin-out with outputs trimmable over a wide ±20% range to include 28 V for avionic systems and 57 V for PoE applications. The 6:1 input range covers nominal 12, 24, and 48 V system rails with sufficient margin to include 48 V battery charging voltage and 12 V battery cranking voltage dips. High efficiency of the RPA...
Every developer looks forward to the moment when he knows that his prototype is finally working, all key functions have been realized and the software is fully implemented except for the diagnostic functions. At the next meeting, he proudly announces that all that is needed at this stage is the EMC approval and a suitable power supply. However, given the limited resources, designing a power supply in-house is not an option, as crucial deadlines would be missed. The team thus agrees to go...
RECOM is launching its 16:1 ultra-wide input high-isolation quarter-brick DC/DC converter, ideal for rail and harsh industrial applications. The input range of the RPA150Q series is 14.4 V to 170 V (200 V for 1 s), and fully regulated available outputs are 12, 24, or 54 VDC with wide +10/−20% trim range (+18/−20% for 24 V output). Efficiency is high across the operating range, and with sufficient airflow, 150 W output is available from −40°C up to at least 65&de...
RECOM has added a 4A option to its RPX series of miniature buck converters. The RPX-4.0 is rated to 3.8 to 36V input and programmable 1 to 7V output at 4A. With a compact 5mm x 5.5mm footprint and low 4.1mm height in a thermally-enhanced QFN package, the buck module pushes the limit on power density. The product features on-off control, a power good signal, and soft start, and is fully protected including under-voltage, short-circuit, over-current, and over-temperature. Integrated shielded in...
The operating environment for mains-powered electrical equipment is separated into four overvoltage category (OVC) areas according to their level of surge protection. This article describes how these four areas differ and how the AC/DC power supplies rated for the OVC II area might be used in the OVC III area in certain circumstances. International standards Most users of mains-powered equipment are confident that they can simply plug in their device to a convenient socket, and their device w...
DC/DC converters with medical-grade isolation can be used in combination with AC/DC power supplies or in battery-powered equipment to minimize end-product costs in healthcare applications while meeting the highest safety standards. Electronic equipment is used increasingly in different medical and home healthcare environments. Product designers will be familiar with the electrical safety standards that must be complied with: IEC 60601-1:2005 with its collateral documents and national variants,...
Power conversion can often be the bane of product designers, regardless of what they are designing. In space-constrained applications such as cutting-edge IoT devices or handheld medical devices, using standard converter modules can be limited by space, and discrete power conversion design can be costly and untimely. To help designers get their designs to market faster, RECOM has introduced new 3DPP technology which offers space-conscious, high-performance turnkey power conversion right out of...
Capacitors are essential passive components used in every modern circuit and electronics application for smoothing and filtering power lines and for bypassing signals. In AC/DC EMC filter applications, two special classes of capacitors – Class-X and Class-Y – are used to filter AC power-source noise and are commonly referred to as “safety capacitors”. What are Class-X Capacitors Class-X capacitors are placed across the line and neutral connections to mitigate negative...
After 22 years with RWE and innogy and later at E.ON, Bernhard Günther will leave E.ON on December 31, 2020. Over the course of his career, he has performed various key roles covering all areas of finance. Günther began his career in the Group Controlling department before switching to RWE Power, and there and within RWE AG he quickly took on managerial tasks before becoming CFO of RWEST, RWE’s trading business. He was later appointed CFO of RWE AG and then innogy SE in 2016. In...
Feit Electric, a pioneering global lighting manufacturer and pioneer in energy-efficient lighting, is enabling Americans nationwide to transform their living spaces to accommodate and transition between multiple purposes with new LED lighting and Smart Home solutions. Home is no longer just a place for eating and sleeping. Out of necessity, Americans are adapting their dwellings into makeshift work offices, classrooms, gyms, movie theaters, and more. 42% of Americans are working full-time from...