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Small ACDC Converter

1. The document describes the goals and design process for a small AC-DC converter circuit without transformers that can output between 3-32V at a minimum of 15mA. 2. The converter will be used to power a solid state relay that connects an AC load of up to 240V and 10A. To keep power consumption low, the output voltage and current needs to be minimized. 3. Two potential design options are considered: using voltage dividers which only works for a fixed load, or using Zener diodes to drop the voltage after rectification which can achieve any output voltage by adding a current limiting resistor if no load is present.

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carlyblack2006
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41 views1 page

Small ACDC Converter

1. The document describes the goals and design process for a small AC-DC converter circuit without transformers that can output between 3-32V at a minimum of 15mA. 2. The converter will be used to power a solid state relay that connects an AC load of up to 240V and 10A. To keep power consumption low, the output voltage and current needs to be minimized. 3. Two potential design options are considered: using voltage dividers which only works for a fixed load, or using Zener diodes to drop the voltage after rectification which can achieve any output voltage by adding a current limiting resistor if no load is present.

Uploaded by

carlyblack2006
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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http://mike-thomson.com/blog/?

p=12 September 3, 2012


Small AC-DC converter
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One of my goals recently has been to make a small (no transformers) application-specific AC-DC
converter. Here are the specs I need to meet:
Iout > 15 mA (DC)
3.0 V < Vout < 32.0 V (DC)
The reason I was planning for these specs is because I am testing my converter with a solid state relay
(SSR) that is driven by a DC input of 3 V, 15 mA minimum, and connects an AC load of up to 240 V, 10
A maximum. I am trying to keep the power consumption of my circuit down, so that means I need to try
to keep both the voltage and current as low as possible. Here are some of the paths I may try to take:
1. Use resistors as a voltage divider. This will only be effective if the load resistance will always be
the same.
2. Use some Zener diodes to drop the voltage down after rectification. Then almost any voltage can
be obtained, and a resistor can be used to limit the current if no load is present.
I have tried #1 above, and it works fine for my testing because I planned the circuit for a specific load
resistance. I think option #2 will be a better option, and I am going to start building and testing it. I will
use some medium-voltage (around 20 V) Zener diodes to reduce the voltage to what I want, and then
use a capacitor to get rid of any ripple voltage and a very high value resistor (1 M) in parallel with the
capacitor to drain the capacitor when the circuit is disconnected from a power source. Any load would
then go in parallel with the resistor.
The reason I would use several medium-voltage Zener diodes instead of one high-voltage Zener diode
is because if the load resistance (that is in parallel with the several M resistor) is relatively small, then
the current through the Zener diodes could be very large, which means I would need high wattage Zener
diodes, which means I would have to spend a lot more money on them. If I try to stick with 20 V, 1 W
Zener diodes, then I can go up to a maximum of (1 W) / (20 V) = 50 mA of current. For now, thats more
current than I will be using. If I need more current than that, then I can use more lower-voltage Zeners.
This may not be the best solution, but it is a good learning experience for me and it is fun! All of this is
preliminary research to some larger projects that I have planned (which I will post here when I start
them.)
Ill post some pictures and schematics as I continue this project.
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