Will laptops be fine on a square wave inverter ?

[wearetheborg]

Will laptops work fine on a square wave (as opposed to a sine wave ) inverter ? Or will it reduce the longevity of laptops/power converters ?
Has anyone damaged a laptop or something on a square wave inverter ?

 

[Krazy4Real]

No problem using a laptop on a square wave inverter. Computer power supplies are much more resilient to dirty power. I have run my laptop off of a $20 square wave inverter many times and I haven't had any issues.

 

[pitz]

Square wave power increases the amount of heat generated by a PSU. If you have a power brick that runs extremely hot, putting square wave into it could very well notch the temperature up a few degrees, and degrade its life even further.

So yes, longevity will be reduced. But how much of a reduction you will experience is entirely dependant on the facts of your situation, and is very hard to predict (especially not on an internet forum!).

 

[PM650]

Actually, if the brick doesn't have active pfc, it shouldn't be a problem. PSUs w/o active pfc just directly rectify the ac voltage and feed into a large capacitor to create a DC supply rail, so it will work more efficiently with a square wave, providing the peak isn't a higher voltage than the main capacitor is rated at (I'm looking at you, Silverstone). Square waves with active pfc will cause additional heating - how much this affects longevity depends on how much heat it generates already on normal power.

Active PFC is mandated in the EU for bricks over 75W, but there's no regulation in the US. If the supply states 'full-range' or 100-220V input, then it is likely active pfc.

 

[wearetheborg]

The brick in question is for the dell M6400; and it is indeed 110-220v. I think its rated like 225w (its a mini nuclear reactor). It gets a bit hot during normal use of mains, I guess maybe 45c.

So laptop bricks also have PFC ?

 

[PM650]

I would say so, but the only way to know for sure, short of opening it up, is to look at the input current waveform with a scope or some other device. PC (excluding laptops) power supplies without active pfc will have switches for 110/220 operation, but it is possible to have an automatic switch (transparent to the user) that performs the same function (unlikely here, but possible).

I would say, if it isn't near egg-frying temps, try it on the inverter for a few minutes and see how hot it gets. If it really is just a plain square wave (not a simulated-sine), there is a very small chance it could be damaged under certain circumstances, so proceed with caution.