In almost every way, the work of electricians and the study and design of electricity-controlling devices and components is considered an analog field. This is because of the very nature of flowing electricity, which is not something that can be controlled with the “ones and zeros” of digital technology. As power supply design has advanced over time, however, the desire to make more functional, flexible electrical components at lower costs has led to a new types of hybrid “digital power supplies” that utilize a number of beneficial components of digital technology.
What is Digital Power?
The label given to digital power supplies is somewhat inaccurate. The nature of the energy being supplied has not changed to a digital format. Rather, digital components, such as the type of digital processor you might find in a computer, are integrated in to the power supply to allow for more sophisticated control of incoming and outgoing electricity. A decreasing cost of the digital elements has made it more and more feasible for integration with traditional analog power supplies and an entirely new skill set has become valuable within the field of power supply design.
New Technology, New Benefits
The benefits of digital power supplies and digital power controllers are very apparent to those involved in this cutting-edge field. First of all, the decision making process of power supply controllers can become much more sophisticated and flexible by incorporating digital technology. For instance, fully analog controllers make decisions based on complex trees of “If yes, then…” type inputs from connected circuits. Digital controllers, on the other hand, need only a single point of programming to make decisions based on a number of parameters and variables. Different types of digital components can also store, track and analyze incoming and outgoing parameters much easier than traditional electrical elements.
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