Methodology
With the equipment that we are using identified, now it is time to see how that equipment is used. Our methodology, as described below, address’s what we feel are the key points of power supply performance and are designed to push power supplies to their limits.
…DESIGNED TO PUSH POWER SUPPLIES TO THEIR LIMITS.
- Normal Voltage Input
- The incubator’s temperature is set to 45C, the Variac output voltage is set to 120v, and a range of loads equal to ~25%, ~50%, ~75%, and ~100% of rated continuous output is applied to the power supply by the SunMoon SM-8800/SM-220 for a period of 30 minutes per load. The PF and efficiency values are determined from the data provided by the Extech Power Analyzer.
- Low Voltage Input
- The incubator’s temperature is set to 45C, the Variac output voltage is set to 100v, and a range of loads equal to ~25%, ~50%, ~75%, and ~100% of rated continuous output is applied to the power supply by the SunMoon SM-8800/SM-220 for a period of 30 minutes per load. The PF and efficiency values are determined from the data provided by the Extech Power Analyzer.
- Torture Test
- The incubator’s temperature is set to 45C, the Variac output voltage is set to 120v, and a load equal to ~80% of rated continuous output is applied to the power supply by the SunMoon SM-8800/SM-220 for a period of 8 hours. The PF and efficiency values are determined from the data provided by the Extech Power Analyzer.
- Transient Load Test
- The incubator’s temperature is set to 45C, the Variac output voltage is set to 120v, and loads equal to ~25% and ~50% of rated continuous output are applied to the power supply by the SunMoon SM-8800/SM-220 for a period of 30 minutes per load. After this time period has elapsed, the Transient Load Tester is triggered adding 9.25A to the 12v rail and 3.75A to the 5v rail for a duration of 10ms. DC output changes are logged by the USB Instruments DS1M12 Digital Oscilloscope.
- 80 Plus Compliance
- The incubator’s temperature is set to room temperature (23-26C), the Variac output voltage is set to 115v, and the 80 Plus designated range of loads equal to approximately ~10, ~20%, ~50%, and ~100% of rated continuous output are applied to the power supply by the SunMoon SM-8800/SM-220 in accordance with the 80 Plus methodology. The PF and Efficiency are determined from the data provided by the Extech Power Analyzer.
- DC Output Quality
- During the Normal Voltage Input, Low Voltage Input, and Torture Test the ripple/noise values are logged by the USB Instruments DS1M12 Digital Oscilloscope for the 12v, 5v, and 3.3v rails. These values are, usually, displayed with a v/div of 0.05v and t/div of 2ms.
- Noise Output
- Load testing audio impressions are largely a subjective matter. A specific frequency/dB combination may sound “loud”, or be entirely audible, to one person while not to another due to the large variability in human senses and other factors. This, coupled with the use of active load testers to replicate what kind of loads a PC generates, makes most noise output assessments difficult to quantify in values that mean something to everyone. Therefore, our noise output evaluations are done solely on a descriptive/qualitative basis rather than a quantitative one.