I need to design a power supply for my home automation products. I need +12V DC (1A) and +5V DC (500mA) respectively for two different products. One option is to use a circuit with coil based transformer; second option is to use an SMPS based circuit. Size, durability and cost are the key constraints of my product. Please suggest which option should I go with?
Electronic – Power Supply for Home Automation – SMPS vs Coil Based
switch-mode-power-supplytransformer
Related Solutions
Firstly, why <3 dB? This is a ridiculously strict requirement for general use, so do you have a specific need for zero noise?
This aside, the lowest-noise power supplies are linear. This is a basic circuit that pretty much looks like:
transformer -> rectifier -> smoothing capacitors -> regulator -> more smoothing capacitors
See this article for more info.
You can buy these off the shelf. However, they are declining in popularity as switchmode supplies are more compact and efficient. I would just build one yourself, as this way you can find your own specific requirements and parts. For part selection, keep in mind that:
- Toroidal transformers tend to have the lowest noise
- The regulator is specific to your voltage, power requirements and features (e.g. variable)
These are the only components you really need to choose based on noise, as capacitors and diodes are silent!- As @AndrejaKo quite rightly pointed out some capacitors (e.g. ceramics) are indeed not silent, so you should probably steer clear of them. Thanks AndrejaKo!
Look online for example circuits, calculators, and tutorials.
The LT3484 is quite clear in the data sheet: -
The primary inductance is recommended to be about 10 uH. Take note!
The current sense transformer you have highlighted has a primary inductance of at least 80 uH and ranges up to 8 mH depending on which one you choose. The specific one in your question has a primary inductance of 180 uH.
Now you might get it to work very badly with the output capacitor charging slowly and maybe not reaching full expected voltage but if you read LTI's data sheet they specify these parts: -
- KIJIMA MUSEN PART# SBL-5.6-1, LPRI = 10µH, N = 10.2
- TDK LDT565630T-003 LPRI = 10.5µH, N = 10.2
- TDK PART# LDT565630T-001, LPRI = 6µH, N = 10.4
- TDK PART# LDT565630T-002, LPRI = 14.5µH, N = 10.2
.... In the example circuits provided.
Best Answer
First I'd suggest you to double check your power requirements. You are consuming 12+2.5 = 14.5 watts of power which seems too much for a home automation product. If you are just running some relays, micro-controllers and sensors on that power, you are probably doing it wrong. Again, you might be running some extra load on it and it might be correct.
Now coming to your hardware selection, there are a few questions that you need to answer first:
1) Are there any physical constraints on size of the power supply?
2) Are you going for a bulk production?
3) Do you have some knowledge about electronics and are you willing to put some time in R&D?
If your answers are mostly "NO", then simplest thing would be to go for a transformer based power supply. You can choose a center tap transformer or two different transformers - One for 12V and other one for 5V. Add two linear regulators 7812 and 7805 to make things more robust and you are done. Obvious cons will be high cost and bigger physical size but it will get you up and running very fast. Alternatively you can just buy two power adapters.
However if your answers are mostly "YES"(which is the case actually), then I'd suggest you to go for switching power supplies. Why? Low cost, smaller size and higher efficiency. In the cost of one normal transformer, you will have complete power supply designed if you choose your part vendors wisely. If all major companies are giving you an SMPS based chargers, there must be a good reason to it. If you have decided to go for this, these are the points you need to research on:
1) Selection of an offline switcher IC. You need to choose an IC suitable for your power requirements. For ex - Viper22a is one of the commonly available ICs and it can give you around 20 watts of power if your input voltage is in the range 195V to 265V.
2) Selection/design of the ferrite core transformer - This is the toughest part in my opinion unless you have a good knowledge about magnetics. A cost saving idea would be to go for multiple secondary windings - dual to be precise. One for 12V and the other one for 5V. You need to select a suitable transformer core for the power requirements. You can follow app notes for this purpose.
3) Once these two key components have been selected, you need to pay some attention to noise. What's the max ripple noise you can accept? If you aren't performing any precise adc measurements, 5-10% of output voltage is usually acceptable. For analog stuff, you need rock solid power supply or you will end up introducing some measurement error. Once the acceptable noise has been agreed upon, you need to design a suitable filter for the same. In some cases, just a capacitor is enough. In other cases, an LC filter might be required.
Note: There is yet another cheaper version - Non isolated power supply where you use an inductor rather than a flyback transformer. However you are always at a risk of shock if someone touches the circuit and usually not recommended.