In this fourth instalment of sustainable energy from TI, read about how sustainable energy isn’t just about generating clean power, it’s also about managing, monitoring, and protecting every watt along the way. Read about the engineering details that make modern energy systems both efficient and resilient, from the data centre to the home.
Data centre power-supply efficiency standards continue to climb. The newest 80 Plus Ruby certification pushes efficiency requirements hight than ever, even at light loads – a benchmark that’s reshaping how engineers approach totem-pole bridgeless PFC design and inrush current protection. Then there’s the signal chain of power electronics: choosing the right op amps to pair with precision ADCs, and how isolated, simultaneous-sampling delta-sigma converters are enabling more accurate energy metering and circuit protection.
From the data centre to the home, explore how intelligent electrification – smart breakers, EV chargers, solar inverters, and battery storage – is giving homeowners more visibility and control over their energy use. Take a look at the protection challenges unique to 48V systems, including AI servers and EV power architectures, where hot-swap controllers and cascaded ideal diodes play a growing role.
A novel CCM-TCM multimode control method for totem-pole bridgeless PFC
Introduction Power-supply units (PSUs) in data centers must have high efficiency and high power density. The 80 Plus Ruby certification, announced last year, sets the highest efficiency standards for data center PSUs yet. As you can see in Table 1, 80 Plus Ruby efficiency is not only higher than 80 Plus Titanium at each load condition, but also requires 90% efficiency at a 5% load, which has never been specified before.
How to cut PLC output power dissipation in half using an adaptive supply
The 4-20 mA current loop is a common signaling scheme for control systems. Field transmitters send sensor readings as 4-20 mA signals, and programmable logic controller (PLC) 4-20 mA outputs control many actuators. Increased channel count for PLC modules is a major industrial trend but creates a challenge for PLC current output modules because of power dissipation.
Selecting precision op amps as ADC drivers
Selecting an operational amplifier (op amp) to drive an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is not a trivial task. Usually dictated by the end equipment, the choice of ADC is based on trade-offs of several parameters. Even within the same sector or market segment, ADC requirements can differ. For example, in test and measurement you will find a mix between successive approximation register (SAR) and delta-sigma ADCs. SAR ADCs tend to be popular in parametric measurement units, memory testers and battery cell formation testers.
Analog Design Journal
- Choosing a position sensor in motor control
- A novel approach to narrowband matching high-speed RF ADCs
- Cascaded ideal diodes: Solving 48V EV power challenges
- Comparing discrete and integrated difference amplifiers
- Designing real-time diagnostic (RTD) circuits for automotive audio applications
Analog Design Journal
- Addressing the protection challenges of 48V AI servers using hot-swap controllers
- How to limit PFC re-rush current
- Transient protection design for power switches to achieve reliable power-path protection
- Optimizing signal chain cost and accuracy for isolated current sensing in energy metering
- Sampling around Nyquist holes in high-speed converters
Smarter breakers, safer home: The hidden technology within your energy-abundant house
An electric vehicle (EV) charges in the garage while the coffeemaker hums to life. As the sun rises, solar panels generate energy for the house and return excess energy to the grid. Throughout the day, smart thermostats adjust automatically, and batteries store unused energy.
AMC131M03 – Three-channel, simultaneous-sampling 24-bit isolated delta-sigma ADC
The AMC131M03 is a precision, three-channel, data- and power-isolated, simultaneous-sampling, 24-bit, delta-sigma (ΔΣ) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The AMC131M03 offers wide dynamic range, low power, and energy-measurement-specific features designed for energy metering and power metrology applications. The ADC inputs can be directly interfaced to a resistor-divider network or a shunt current sensor because of the device high input impedance.
ADS131M08 – 24-bit, 32-kSPS, 8-channel, simultaneous-sampling, delta-sigma ADC
The ADS131M08 is a eight-channel, simultaneously-sampling, 24-bit, delta-sigma (ΔΣ), analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that offers wide dynamic range, low power, and energy-measurement-specific features, making the device an excellent fit for energy metering, power metrology, and circuit breaker applications. The ADC inputs can be directly interfaced to a resistor-divider network or a power transformer to measure voltage or to a current transformer or a Rogowski coil to measure current.
INA818 – Low power (350-µA), precision instrumentation amp with ±60-V overvoltage protection (gain pins 1, 8)
The INA818 is a high-precision instrumentation amplifier that offers low power consumption and operates over a very wide single-supply or dual-supply range. A single external resistor sets any gain from 1 to 10000. The device offers high precision as a result of super-beta input transistors, which provide exceptionally low input offset voltage, offset voltage drift, input bias current, input voltage, and current noise. Additional circuitry protects the inputs against overvoltage up to ±60 V.
MSPM0G5187SRGER – 80MHz Arm® Cortex®-M0+ MCU with 128kB flash, 32kB SRAM, USB 2.0 FS, I2S, ADC and TinyEngine™ NPU | RGE | 24 | -40 to 125
MSPM0G5187 microcontrollers (MCUs) are part of the MSP highly integrated, ultra-low-power 32-bit MCU family based on the enhanced Arm Cortex-M0+ 32-bit core platform, operating at up to 80MHz frequency. These MCUs offer a blend of cost optimization and design flexibility for applications requiring up to 128KB of flash memory in small packages or high pin count packages (up to 64 pins). These devices include a TinyEngineTM NPU,USB2.0-FS interface,digital audio interface, cybersecurity enablers, high performance integrated analog, and provide excellent low power performance across the operating temperature range.
