If you need a dimmable power supply for your electronics laboratory, then here you can see the best that you have at your fingertips. In this way, you will not have to buy batteries, batteries, or adapters for each project you do, but you can simply feed them with your source, adapting the voltage you need for the components. A single device for all your maker projects and that cannot be missing in any self-respecting laboratory.
Better dimmable power supplies
The best adjustable power supplies that you can get at an economical price are the following that recommend :
6KW Programmable WSD with 110-220V regulator
Yahosi Programmable with 0-110V output
Ivytech Programmable Professional high precision
RIGOL DP813A 200W
Dual Channel Programmable Power Supply
PeakTech 6181 dual channel 0-30V
SPE6053 single channel programmable power supply
NICE-POWER programmable from 0-120V
Eventek power supply 0-30V
What is a dimmable power supply?
In our previous blogs, we have already covered how the power supplies. Here we will focus on the dimmable versions. Adjustable power supplies are similar to conventional ones, except that they allow you to adjust the voltages and currents instead of just the outputs. You can adjust the voltage from a range of voltages, instead of having a set of 3v3, 5v, 12v, etc. So you can select the voltage you need instead of having a fixed output.
How to choose the best according to your needs
If you want to choose a good adjustable power supply for your laboratory, then you should pay attention to the following criteria:
- Budget: It is the most important thing, since as much as you want a higher category dimmable power supply, you will always have to adapt to the money you have to invest. This will help you download many models that fall outside your budget and focus on the ones that are within.
- Needs: the next thing is to analyze why you want it, since this is important to establish the characteristics that an adjustable power supply should have:
- DC voltage range What do you need for your project? There are from 0-5V to 0-60V or more.
- Maximum current or intensity output that allows. This will also determine the power, since P = V · I.
- Stability of the energy supplied, which will depend on the quality of the source itself. In addition, the type also influences, since the programmable linear ones give better results.
- Required Channels to feed several projects simultaneously. In this way, you can be feeding several circuits each with different voltage requirements. For example, there are sources of a single channel, 2, 3, 4, etc.
- Type of dimmable power supply:
- Programmable vs. non-programmable: the non-programmable ones are simple, while the programmable ones are somewhat more complex, and have software that can be connected to control certain parameters.
- Switched vs Linear: Linears are big and heavy, around 50% efficient, need more powerful cooling systems, generate noise and ripples in the outputs, operate at lower power, voltage, and current compared to switched, and They generally cost less money. On the other hand, the switched ones are more compact and lighter, with an energy efficiency of 90%, with greater power, voltage and current admitted, more resistant to voltage drops and disturbances, and with higher costs, in addition to generating a lot of noise and ripple in the the output, and have unstable operation.
- Trademarks: There are several brands, some of the most prominent such as Eventek, but it is not the only quality one. In our selection we have recommended some of the best brands that you can use as a reference for your purchase.
- Compatibility: If they are programmable and you have software, it is important to see what operating systems the power supply supports, since most are for Windows. If you have GNU/Linux, macOS, or other operating systems, then you're not going to find dimmable power supplies readily available.