Power Supplies in Parallel Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+

[Hamilton Doe]

Can two power supplies be connected in parallel to increase the current capacity?

What are the advantages of Power Factor Correction?

[Dan Test]

Hi Hamilton, you can parallel Crouzet power supplies. Before you wire them in parallel you will want to
use the voltage adjustment pot to set the supplies at the same voltage.

Power factor correction(PFC) makes reactive loads look more like a resistive load. Reactive loads,
contrary to what some people will say, do not make your electricity bill higher. The Watt meter
does not see this "wasted power". However reactive loads do cause problems on the mains because
these loads will draw current on part of the sine wave and deliver current back to the mains on
another part of the sine wave. So the electric company has to deliver current part of the time
and handle some of the current coming back at other times. This makes the waveform on the mains
look very very strange. The current being delivered back is not the real power consumption, but it
is real current. The power company has to take this current into consideration by using thicker wire
and larger distribution tranformers on the grid to accomadate this "extra" current. The thick wire and
larger transformers do waste power due to increased resistance. Some Industrial power customers are
charged an extra fee on their electricity bill based on the power factor of the equipment they use.
The more an industrial company screws up the grid, the larger the extra fee is. So, for customers
that are being charged this fee, a PFC supply can actually save them money. Also, many countries,
including most of Europe, require equipment that use DC power supplies use only PFC supplies.