The traditional model railroad power and control has transitioned from simple hardwired loops to advanced networking in the past decades, bringing many benefits and a few drawbacks. Networking changes things (almost) completely This scenario changed radically with the development of digital command control (DCC) for model railroads. What DCC did was bring data and networking […]
FAQ
Smart grids, software defined grids, and big data
The business models and technology architectures of electric utility grids worldwide are under attack both at the edge and overall. The first FAQ in this series looked at the attack on the edge of the grid in “Nano grids, microgrids and the decentralization of the electric grid.” Virtual power plants, distributed energy resources, and power […]
Virtual power plants, distributed energy resources and power in the cloud
Virtual power plants (VPPs) are increasingly challenging the dominance of traditional large-scale centralized electricity generation. A VPP is defined as a collection of distributed energy resources (DERs) that are aggregated through cloud computing and control for the purpose of providing enhanced power generation and availability. The DERs are often heterogeneous and can include wind power, […]
Good-bye x-ray tubes, hello “vacuum” transistors
Among the presentations at this year’s IEDM: A silicon vacuum transistor that operates at over 38 kV. Examine a hospital x-ray machine or a high-power RF transmitter and you’ll find a beefy vacuum tube. Vacuum devices still rein for applications requiring extremely high voltages (>30 kV) such as for x-ray generation or high-power radar (> […]
Nano grids, microgrids, and zero net energy consumption
Electric utility grids around the world are undergoing a fundamental change in architecture. The centralized grid that was designed to provide inexpensive electricity with a reasonable level of quality and reliability is no longer meeting society’s needs. Aging transmission and distribution systems are significantly reducing both the quality and reliability of electricity. And the use […]
Even model railroads are now networked, Part 1: The not-so-simple loop
The traditional model railroad power and control has transitioned from simple hardwired loops to advanced networking in the past decades, bringing many benefits and a few drawbacks. Anyone who ever had a basic model-railroad layout knows how easy it is to deliver power to the locomotive’s motor, as the physical rails (tracks) are also the […]
When RMS amplitude is important and when it isn’t
There are a variety of ways to specify the amplitude of a waveform. Here are a few of the most common forms and a primer on when specific types are most appropriate. In physics. amplitude is the absolute value of the maximum displacement from zero during one period of an oscillation. In electrical waveforms, amplitude […]
Benefits of software-configurable power systems
The first FAQ in this series looked at the various hardware options for implementing digital power. Part two took a deep look at the PMBus/SMBus communication protocol for implementing digital power configuration, control, and monitoring. This FAQ will delve into the system level benefits of using digital power converters with PMBus communication. PMBus can bring […]
A look at USB Type-C in power-only applications
Having been around for more than two decades, USB connectors are one of the most popular and well-recognized interconnect components in electronic designs. From Type A to Type-C, USB has gone through an array of changes both in terms of the physical connector as well as their associated standards. USB Type-C is the most advanced […]
Digital power management and PMBus moving into the future
Digital power ICs communicate with each other via the System Management Bus (SMBus) using the Power Management Bus (PMBus) communication protocol and the AVSBus protocol, a subset of the PMBus protocol for implementing adaptive voltage scaling. Using SMBus and PMBus-enabled devices for power conversion provides flexibility and control that is impossible with traditional analog power […]