Voltage regulators – useful voltage level regulation
Voltage is one of the most important physical concepts in electronics. Electronic equipment works optimally at a stable voltage, one that will not be dependent on the ambient temperature, the environment in which the system is located or the current consumed. No equipment likes large voltage fluctuations. Such fluctuations can actually be very dangerous for fragile integrated circuits. To prevent them, voltage regulators are used. As the name suggests – these components are responsible for regulating the output voltage level.
Power supplies or batteries provide current limited by a certain range that should be stabilized. Thanks to the correct power supply, we limit the possibility of errors and more dangerous failures in the operation of the device. In Botland you will find voltage regulators of the highest quality. However, remember about the appropriate configuration. If you are a beginner, please be especially familiar with the problem of dropout voltage. This parameter means the voltage value by which the input voltage must be greater than the output voltage. Otherwise, the regulator will not function properly. We should also remember that the voltage stabilizers are also electronic systems and consume energy during operation.
Voltage stabilizers vs voltage regulators – differences
What are the differences between voltage stabilizers and voltage regulators? Well, both devices, voltage stabilizer and voltage regulators, are often confused with each other. Often, when you see the above names, you think they are synonyms. Nothing could be more wrong, although it must be admitted that the way and purpose of both devices is very similar.
The voltage regulators were invented by Siemens as early as 1932. They quickly began to conquer the world, especially the American electronics market. These components are tapped step autotransformers. We use them whenever we want to be sure that the desired output voltage level will always be the same. In practice, however, the regulators simply 'bring' the voltage down to a lower level when necessary. Meanwhile, voltage stabilizers are a bit more advanced, because they try to maintain the dedicated voltage level regardless of whether the voltage level should be increased or decreased at the moment.
Voltage stabilizers and regulators – additional information
Every novice electronics engineer faces the problem of heating regulators. They can heat up to temperatures that can burn us ourselves. In such a situation, it is worth supporting effective heat sinks or larger regulators - standard and traditional, because once on the market there was no LDO, i.e. Low Dropout Regulator. These are specially designed stabilizers, which are an increasingly popular solution, but not the only one.
The use of adjustable stabilizers may be associated with some difficulties. One is that these devices give off heat. Most of the regulators are built in the form of three-terminal circuits. Currently, stabilizers in metal housings are no longer produced, plastic is commonly used. The stabilizer overheating (actually the power of losses) can be calculated by multiplying the voltage difference between the input and output of the stabilizer by the current consumed.
