A few simple techniques can boost the efficiency of modern PoE designs. Charlie Ice • Silicon Labs The latest Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology delivers enough power to meet the needs of today’s WiFi6 routers, IoT gateways, and 5G small cells. PoE now delivers up to 71 W of power over standard Ethernet cables. At […]
FAQ
Liquid cooling for precise temperature control
Electronics that generate a lot of heat in a small volume often benefit from swapping a cooling fan for a system based on a liquid coolant. Greg Ducharme • Laird Thermal Systems The specific heat of water is higher than the specific heat of air—about 4,200 J/kg°C vs. 1,005 J/kg°C. This is another way of […]
Formula E powertrains, fast charging and regen – Virtual Roundtable (part 2 of 2)
Moderated by Jeff Shepard Moderated by Jeff Shepard, EE World has organized this “virtual roundtable” bringing together experts in Formula E racing technology to share with you their experience and insights into powertrains, fast charging, regenerative braking, and potential technology crossovers between Formula E and conventional electric vehicles. Joining us for this virtual roundtable are: […]
Measuring efficiency in solar photovoltaic cells
Single-junction solar cells have a maximum theoretical efficiency of 33.16%, the Shockley-Queisser limit. But there are work-arounds that permit solar array designers to surpass that limit on a square-foot basis. The maximum solar conversion efficiency of around 33.7% happens at a 1.34 eV band gap and is subject to several assumptions. By way of review, […]
Navigating new safety standards for power supplies
More stringent requirements are scheduled to soon emerge from standards bodies that will affect a wide range of manufactured equipment. Sebastian Fischer, Andreas Flũhlern • Traco Electronic AG Standards committees are working on a new, common standard for safety requirements governing audio/video, information and communication technology–the IEC/EN/UL 62368-1. The first version of IEC 62368-1 was […]
Formula E batteries, software and technology transfer – Virtual Roundtable (part 1 of 2)
Moderated by Jeff Shepard EE World has organized this “virtual roundtable” bringing together experts in Formula E racing technology to share with you their experience and insights into batteries, software, and potential technology crossovers between Formula E and conventional electric vehicles. Joining us for this virtual roundtable are: Masayasu Yoshida (MY), Vice President, Automotive Systems […]
Coming: New safety ratings for power adapters
Prepare yourself for the updated standards about to take hold in power equipment that includes external adapters. Ron Stull • CUI Inc. A power adapter is a barrier between lethal ac mains voltage and the dc power line for end equipment. Different environments, however, demand different adapter construction to meet safety levels. For example, domestic, […]
Why electrolytic capacitors blow up
Electrolytic capacitors have a reputation for failing spectacularly when mistreated. Leland Teschler • Executive Editor Pop open a common LED bulb and you’ll often find an electrolytic capacitor occupying a place in the input from the ac line. Though illumination-grade LEDs generally have lifetimes exceeding 10,000 hours, the electrolytic caps in their base may not […]
Why your local landfill won’t contain lithium batteries
Leland Teschler • Executive editor Consumers with an inclination toward sustainability have been bummed out over recent revelations that most of the plastics they have carefully separated, washed, and placed in recycling bins typically end up in the local dump. So it may come as good news that dead lithium batteries are increasingly likely to […]
Capacitors for power converter output filtering
Capacitors are found throughout switch mode power converters. The first FAQ in this series of three articles looked at the X and Y safety capacitors used in the input filtering section. The second article looked inside the power converter and considered dc link capacitors as well as energy storage and pulse power capacitors. This final […]