Electrical – Why is Inrush current important to me when buying a power supply

inrush-currentswitch-mode-power-supply

I am in the process of buying some power supplies and was looking over the datasheet at saw the inrush current is stated as "Coldstart 80A/230VAC"

I can also see that the AC Input is rated 1.1A/230VAC.

Now I know that the rated 1.1A determines how much the power supply could potentially draw during operation. But I do not understand the inrush rating. I know that inrush current happens at startup very very briefly. But I a bit terrified by the 80Amp rating.

How should I understand this rating if I what to plug it is not a normal wall socket at home?

And does it have even more serious meaning if I plugged 5 of the same one into the same wall socket?

For reference here is the complete datasheet for the power supply:
http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=UHP-200(R)#1

Best Answer

The inrush-current listed is worst case. That is, when you happen to turn it on when the AC voltage is at the peak of a cycle and when any internal inrush circuitry is already heated. You will likely draw a lot less most of the time you turn it on.

The in-rush current dissipates extremely quickly, and assuming you don't have really fast fuses or circuit breakers, it "should" not present a problem.

However, I would avoid installing a number of these power supplies on a bus-bar and switching them all on simultaneously with the bus bar switch.