I am trying to source (hopefully) a single power supply for my present project. From this single source I was thinking of using appropriate buck and boost converter circuits to fan out the various voltages I need.
I understand that with something like a basic DC voltage regulator, your 'excess' is basically dissipated by heat (which you have to watch out for/ensure to control).
Seeing with almost everything in engineering there is inevitably a 'trade off', I was wondering what the case was in terms of 'buck and boost' ?
For one, from some circuits I have looked at, I can obviously see they don't have 100% efficiency (though many are not all that bad)– Though at the same time with the right IC these circuits are much simpler than the straight 'power/transformer' circuitry that would otherwise be needed.
In this sense, I am wondering what is the 'cost' of buck and boost– is heat still a major issue ? Is it only a matter of a certain loss of efficiency ?
A bit of a basic question I know, but still trying to wrap my head around this.
Thnx.
Best Answer
The basic trade off between a linear (step down only, and buck and/or boost switching regulators, aside from efficiency, is lower part count, easier layout, & heat vs higher part count, layout concerns, & noise.
Going with a module makes the first two moot, but the third is still an issue for audio or rf or high speed data. Switching supplies can cause interference in some cases based on their switching nature. Linear regulators on the other hand, can smooth out noise. In exchange, switching regulators are relatively cool, while linear regs heat up more as the current increases.