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PSU's w/ Active PFC

M

mdcrab

Platinum Member
Don't PSU's w/Active PFC operate at a higher efficiency, costing less to operate over the long run? Or is this just a bunch of bunk?

mdcrab :roll:
 
No, PFC doesn?t having any relation to DC power efficiencies, it only affects the AC side of the conversion.

It's actually rather complicated, I'm not sure I can sum it up in a simple short explanation. Dan dose a pretty good job of explaining it however.
 
You're not going to save any $ with PFC in a residential home environment. There is also NO advantage when it comes to the quality of the output voltages.
 
Power factor correction (PFC) is something that benefits the power company (whom you pay for your electricity at home). It does not benefit the consumer of the power in any way directly.

The power company charges you for the real power that you use. However, the amount of energy wasted in the power lines has to do with the current that flows through those lines. The lower the overall power factor, the higher the current in those lines will be for the same total power the power company delivers.

So, the power company prefers all the electricity users to have a power factor of 1. If that was the case, the power wasted in the power lines would be minimized (still not zero).

Considering that you, as a consumer, pay for the real power that you use, the power factor of your house makes no difference on how much you pay at the end of the month.
 
However, if you profess to be an "environmentalist" then you are OBLIGATED to buy ONLY active PFC PSUs anything less would be hypocrisy (but then, what would be new about that :roll: ). now that there is the 80% club, you'd have to go that route too. About the only widely available PSUs with both aPFC and 80%+ efficiency are the Seasonic S12 series. Others should be here soon like the Sparkle/Fortron Greenies.
. aPFC can give you a few extra minutes of uptime on a UPS. And they usually come with full range AC tolerance from under 100 to around 230V which should lend higher stability to the PSU.

. I just took apart a Delta server PSU and it has the older (> 2yr ago) technology aPFC and input voltage range adjustment. There are two full sized PCBs in there, one at the top and one at the bottom of an oversized case. The one on top is AC only and the components are monstrous. The bottom PCB is the DC side with equally sturdy parts and 39A on the +12 (465W total). It has a 92mm exhaust fan. The thing weighs 6 pounds!!!

.bh.
 
You are right Zepper. I forgot all about a UPS. Good point!
If there is not PFC, a UPS will have to provide more current to the pc (for the same real power), which will drain its battery faster.
 
Originally posted by: vailr
Originally posted by: Zepper
About the only widely available PSUs with both aPFC and 80%+ efficiency are the Seasonic S12 series. Others should be here soon like the Sparkle/Fortron Greenies.
Click to expand...

Is this AOpen 700W PSU a re-branded Sparkle or Fortron?
http://club.aopen.com.tw/news/News_ShowAnswer.aspx?RecNo=7393
Supposedly 85%+ efficiency, with four separate +12V outputs.
Was "announced" April 8, 2005, but haven't seen any for sale yet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Aopen PSUs are built by Forton.
 
Actually the Zippy 700 has been out quite a while, but it definitely is NOT the standard ATX form factor at over 8.5" deep! And you can tell it is a Fortron by the model no. (AO700-12ALN) as that is definitely a variant of a typical Fortron model no. I like the Zippy better as it has a version with 45A of +12 all on ONE RAIL! Rather than no one rail having over 20A like the AO will be. Much more flexible IMO.
. Almost NO ONE actually NEEDS that size of PSU but I can see them flying off the shelves to power systems that actually use under 300WDC at most. Stupid... :roll:

.bh.
 
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