Power Supplies

A power supply (sometimes known as a power supply unit or PSU) is a device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads. The term is most commonly applied to electrical energy supplies. more...

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General description

The complete range of power supplies is very broad, and could be considered to include all forms of energy conversion from one form into another. Conventionally though, the term is usually confined to electrical or mechanical energy supplies. Constraints that commonly affect power supplies are the amount of power they can supply, how long they can supply it for without needing some kind of refueling or recharging, how stable their output voltage or current is under varying load conditions, and whether they provide continuous power or pulses.

The regulation of power supplies is done by incorporating circuitry to tightly control the output voltage and/or current of the power supply to a specific value. The specific value is closely maintained despite variations in the load presented to the power supply's output, or any reasonable voltage variation at the power supply's input. This kind of regulation is commonly categorised as a Stabilized power supply.

Electrical power supplies

This term covers the mains power distribution system together with any other primary or secondary sources of energy such as:

Conversion of one form of electrical power to another desired form and voltage. This typically involves converting 120 or 240 volt AC supplied by a utility company (see electricity generation) to a well-regulated lower voltage DC for electronic devices. For examples, see switched-mode power supply, linear regulator, rectifier and inverter (electrical).; Batteries; Chemical fuel cells and other forms of energy storage systems; Solar power; Generators or alternators (particularly useful in vehicles of all shapes and sizes, where the engine has rotational power to spare, or in semi-portable units containing an internal combustion engine and a generator) (For large-scale power supplies, see electricity generation.) Low voltage, low power DC power supply units are commonly integrated with the devices they supply, such as computers and household electronics.;

Computer power supply

A computer power supply typically is designed to convert 110 V or 230 V AC power from the mains to usable low-voltage DC power for the internal components of the computer. The most common computer power supplies are built to conform with the ATX form factor.

Domestic mains adaptors

A power supply (or in some cases just a transformer) that is built into the top of a plug is known as a "wall wart'", "power brick", "plug-in adapter" or just "power adapter". Because they consume Standby power, they are sometimes known as "electricity vampires".

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