Applications of DC electronic load

Direct current (DC) electronic loads are utilized across various sectors to test and assess DC power supplies. The voltage, current, resistance, and power quantities are all measurable with a DC electronic load, and the results are shown in real time on a screen.
Protecting expensive circuits and prototypes using DC electrical load testing and assessment is possible. If the load detects problems, you may investigate and fix them. A DC electronic load is an integral component of the whole system when servicing, repairing, and troubleshooting your product.

What is electronic load?
An electronic load is a kind of test equipment meant to act as a sink for current and a sponge for the power drawn from a power source. If a power supply is utilized to power an apparatus, it will employ an electronic load to test the power supply by simulating the apparatus being tested (DUT).
Test equipment typically consists of various components, including power supply and electronic loads. The electronic circuits are put through their paces by the power supply, which operates under a variety of different source circumstances. The electronic load evaluates the performance of the energy sources or the energy conversion blocks by a set of predetermined loading criteria.
An electronic load is a programmed instrument that provides the operator with different modes of control, including constant voltage (CV), constant current (CC), constant power (CP), or constant resistance (CR).

Who uses electronic loads?
Electronic loads are tested by device makers and design engineers on various power devices, DC-DC converters, chargers, adapters, batteries, solar panels, fuel cells, and more.

Why do engineers utilize electronic loads rather than a fixed-value power resistor?
It is sufficient to utilize a constant value power resistor when you demand a purely resistive load but do not require closed-loop control. These circumstances include A fixed value resistor poses numerous constraints.
It is insufficient to load and test power sources with complicated testing criteria. To verify the different stages of operation, such duties are needed for highly developed electronic load characteristics.

Electronic Load Applications
Power converter and inverter testing: This method may quickly test the DC-DC and AC/DC converters. The electrical load contributes to the simulation, which helps better understand how the gadget is powered. You can place varying amounts of load on the device to evaluate the lowest and maximum levels of input turn-on voltage. The electronic load allows you to test ripple, noise, load/line control, excessive voltage, and current protection.
Uninterruptible power supply (UPS): To do a comprehensive test like this, you will need an AC source, a DC source, a DC load, and an AC load. The DC load puts the load bank through its paces so that it may test the UPS’s backup battery and charger. An AC load puts the whole UPS system through its paces.
A load bank test determines whether an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can deliver the required power, maintain a stable voltage, and operate efficiently under various load circumstances.
Batteries and fuel cells: When compared to resistor load banks, the time needed to complete the test is significantly reduced when continuous loading is used. Use the CP mode to create a continuous power drain to assess the battery’s capacity.
As the battery voltage declines over time, the CP mode will continue to drain the battery’s power. The capacity of the electronic load to be programmed with various load profiles, each of which has a rapid transition, makes it possible to conduct profile testing for battery charge and discharge cycles.
Solar panels can drain a high current at a cheaper cost, making this an ideal alternative for high-power photo voltaic testing. Employ the CV mode to record the I-V curve and the incremental voltages to gauge the current.
For a test that measures the amount of power used by portable devices, the e-load should be programmed to imitate the different power states of the device, such as sleep, power conservation, and full power modes.
Portable devices: To determine how much power electronic equipment requires, you may mimic its power consumption in various states by using an electronic load. These states include sleep, power saving, and full power modes.

Battery testing
The structures and guidelines for storing, replenishing, and using energy are continuously undergoing development. New ways of generating electricity for electronic items have been found, and these new systems are far more complicated than the older ones were many decades ago.
Because there is a growing need in our society for energy that is both clean and efficient, engineers have recently shifted their attention to the development of applications that make use of sources of energy such as fuel cells, supercapacitors, and solar energy.
It is helpful to have a programmed test instrument that can check specific features of the behavior of the sources due to the complexity that is included in the design of these sources.
Because of the versatility with which it may be programmed and the capacity to carry out discharge tests on power sources such as batteries, a DC electronic load is often useful in such situations. This part will provide a fundamental overview demonstrating an effective method for discharging a battery and evaluating its internal resistance.

Battery discharge curves
When developing and testing a battery that it will use to power a device, a significant deal of consideration is given to the gadget’s energy efficiency and the battery’s expected lifespan.
Because of this, the discharge curves that define the behavior of the battery are evaluated as part of a regular performance test. It is possible to calculate the battery’s efficiency and determine how long its life will last by viewing these curves.
The entire charge is delivered in Ah (ampere-hours) to a voltage you choose with certain DC loads, which allows for monitoring battery discharge. Some DC loads offer this function.

Performance testing of DC loads
Having a reliable DC electronic load that performs well under specified standards and test configurations is vital. Just as it is crucial to have a decent power supply that will conduct accurate measurements under various test situations, it is essential to have a durable DC load.
Some of the most typical tests performed to validate the characteristics of a DC load slew rate, trigger delay, and switching time should all be included.

How to Choose the Best Electronic Load?
There are a variety of uses for electronic loads, such as putting power converters through their paces in a test environment and modulating a current supply in the background while other tests are carried out.
When variable loads are required, they are easier to employ than resistors and give a far better throughput than the latter. When selecting an electronic load, the three ratings of voltage, current, and power most critical for you to consider are the ratings for those three individual parameters.
Not to be confused with the process of choosing a power supply. When choosing a power supply, the only information you normally need to know is the maximum voltage and current levels at which you will be utilizing the supply.
To select a DC electronic load, keep these factors in mind.
Form factor: You should use an automated test equipment option that is both modular and modest in form factor if you want the ability to build it up in the future.
Capacity rating: Make sure your power supply securely manages the capacity of your electronic load. Ensure the electronic load range of activities meets the maximum voltage, current, and power requirements.
Speed: Select a load that has the right slew rate to imitate rapid waveforms and use it. Check to see whether the load can create and measure the signals required by your application with the necessary bandwidth.
Pick a load that allows you to manage the sequencing by programming the slew rate and the ON|OFF delay. If you want to optimize and maximize the throughput of your system, choose a load with a better command processing time and output speed.
Dynamic testing: Find a dynamic load that can generate arbitrary functions and has built-in waveforms so that you may test sine, pulse, step, or ramp functions or import your profiles.
Ensure the load has enough memory and a high enough sample rate to create and monitor quick transient signals. Check that the load produces the required arbitrary dynamic waveforms for each mode.
Flexibility: Choose a modular system so you can combine various components. Electronic modules for load and power are included inside the same housing unit. You will need to synchronize your efforts inside a single environment to accomplish a turnkey solution.
Protection features: Check to verify that the load has built-in protective measures for excessive voltage, current, power, and temperature. Ensure that functionalities are turned off to prevent dangerous circumstances on your DUT.
However, to choose an appropriate electronic load, you will need to be aware of the required voltage, and the amount of current the load will need to consume.
When choosing an electronic load, you need to ensure that it is capable of handling the maximum voltage, current, and power so that your application does not overpower the load. Power is equal to the voltage multiplied by current, so make sure the load can handle the power before choosing it.

Other DC load applications
DC loads are a very useful resource for many kinds of testing and applications. Sometimes, they may even perform the function of a different kind of measuring device throughout the testing process.
A voltmeter is an excellent example of this kind of device. A fuse is one of the other real-world applications discussed in this article.
DC loads can monitor current thresholds and operate as a fuse inside a circuit, assisting in preventing potential damage caused by overcurrent or overwhelm. LISUN provides the best DC loads for your testing purposes.

Voltmeter
Voltmeters are essential for doing measurements in any situation that involves design or testing in some form or another. It is now one of the most helpful diagnostic tools available. Because of this, it is often helpful to have a DC load that can read voltages even when a voltmeter is not in the immediate vicinity.

Fuse
The application presented in this part illustrates how to incorporate a DC load into a circuit to function as a fuse.
When either the measured current, voltage, or power in the load reaches a predetermined threshold, it may make the load turn off automatically by computer software.
This is a simple application for a fuse, and owing to certain delays from the software control, it is not advisable for usage if quick reactions are necessary. Instead, consider using one of the more advanced applications.

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