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    Transformerless Power Supplies DesignNote1a PDF

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    Ashok Shah
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    olla DESIGNER CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote oor Transformerless Power Supply Design Transformerless AC power supplies accept wall-outlet AC valtage (such as 120VAC) input and produce alow vatage DC (such 35 3VDC) output The low voltage DCs typically low caren output, onthe arderof tens of milla, ‘This DesignNeote explains how transformerless power supplies work and examines tradeots to consider wien {designing them, The options described herein canbe implemented with the ProtePewerSwitch, a circuit for prototyping products that contol AC valtage andr are Powered by AC volage, ‘The ProtoPowerSuiteh an be ordered pre-populated or a6 3 bare board, Beyond the prototyping stage, Designer Circuits, LLC can support transition to production by designing and sourcing custom circuit boards specie to your application Contact info®desionercircuits com to learn more Peonaeee ‘Transformerless AC power supply theory isnet generally taught atthe university level yet the use of such power supplies is prevalent in consumer goods. Online whitepapers, and websites provide example circuits and equations to aid ‘the design proces, yet these sources emphasize the math without explaining the fundamental principles of operation. ‘The aim of this DesignNote is familiarize te reader with the basic concepts, such thatthe equations can be derved, ‘onstucted, and manipulated intuitively, ‘The scope of this document addresses circuits which accept single phase AC voltage (e.g, 120VAC, 240VAC) and output low, fixed DC voltage, Basie Concept -Atransforerless power supply typically incorporates: + Redifetion + Woltage Division + Regulation + Filtering + Tnrash Limiting Described simply, the AC input voltage charges up an output fier capacitor. The AC voltage i rectified to ensue that the capacitris only charged and not discharged by the mains. Votage division ensures that only a small action of the input voltage shows up across the ovtout capacitor. Lastly, a Zener diode in parallel with the output capacitor performs basic voltage regulation. Rectification The fist step in the process isto rectly the high voltage AC ‘Snusoid such that the remainder ofthe circuit is only ever ‘exposed to postive voltage This ie achieved by passing the ‘Snusoid through either (1) a ful bridge rectifier composed of four cial, or (2) single diode that blocks the negative part ofthe sinusoidal voltage, as shown in Figure AC input Voltage Poo (VNC es Output with half-wave eectifcation (Single diode) Figure 1 Input and Output Waveforms for Full- and Half- Wave Rectification Stages Regardless ofthe configuration, diodes comprise the Fectifcaion stage. In the fellowing sections, the rectified ‘output vokage waveform will be refered to simply as Vn DESIGNER oie CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote ooza Using a High Voltage to Make a Low Voltage Awallknown method of generating 3 low voltage from a high voltage isto use a votage divider circuit as shown in Figure 2 In textbook examples, the impedances ; and Z) are ‘ypcaly resistors, and if only negligible curent leaves Uhrough Vow then the voltage we can expect at Vari Vis* Zs 1 @s> 2s, Figure 2 Basic Voltage Divider Circuit Using resisters for both Z; and 2 wll generally result in poor paver supply design. Good power supplies support a range of output current from Vy while helding the output vokage constant na rsistor-based design if there is ony load current then the voltage drop across Z, wil increase and Vou wll correspondingly decrease, whichis undesirable Another issue is that if, were to decrease, then Von ll decrease by the same proportion, Given that Vi varies significantly overtime Gee Figure 1), we know with certainty ‘that Vp wil also vary overtime as well which s again undesiable, To improve the performance ofthe power supply, we ean replace the Z,resstr with a Zener ciode instead, a¢ shown in Figure 3 Zi Figure 3 Voltage Divider Circuit with Zener ‘An otdinay diode will pass curtentin one direction (indicated by the arcow ofthe symbol) but wil block current if iets to Mow the other way, preferring instead to allow 3 reverse voltage to build up across. The Zener diode has the unusual characteristic that above a specfied reverse voltage (the Zener votage) forthe device, ft will no longer black ‘utrent but instead allow current to low trough iin reverse. This reverse current low occurs only when the reverse voltage across the Zener diode grows high encugh tomatch the Zener voltage rating Note thatthe Zener diode will actively dissipate power when reverse current flows through it because there i a voltage {the Zener voltage) across. This power is P= PV, Using a Zener diode instead ofa resistor for Zs produces a better power supply which maintains constant output voltage despite changes in input voltage or load current Regardless of whether ImA or 30mA i lowing through the Zener diode, fs Zener valtage does not change (much). Thus, Vaso will not change, even fa load connected to Vo cdraws current (curent that would have otherwise passed ‘through the Zener diode}, IF Ue small amount of inherent Zener diode voltage variability is unacceptable, Vag can feed into an LDO or DC/DE power supply, which will provide improved output regulation Constant Power Loss The Zener diode introduces » non-obvious drawback common to al transformeress power supplies: constant power consumption regardless of load, The curent passing through Z, can go ane of two places: through the Zener diode or through the load connected to Vaux However, the total average curent will always match the current through 2, Fora Wansformerles supply that can source up 100m + Ifthe load connected to Van draus very litle current (or none at ald, then all unused current (up to 30mA) lows through Z; which dissipates power in the Zener code 1+ Ifthe load connected to Vax dras most of the 30mA, then the power dissipation ofthe Zener is lower while the power clssipation of the load higher Constant average input power input is incurred fora transformerless power supply regaraless of whether or not the load dows current. ‘Output (Hold-up) Capacitance ‘Arectiied sinsoidal AC input voltage (as shown in Figure 1) has periods of time where the instantaneous Vs has a smaller magnitude than the DC output Zener) voltage. Te prop up the DC output voltage during these periods, a capacitoris added to Voy This capacitor allows Vou to "tide through’ the petiods of small instantaneous AC valtage. olla DESIGNER CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote oo1 Input Impedance Zils usually implemented as one of two options A very simple low cost 2s resistor, more efficient option is 2 ‘eapacitor The size of the Zs resistor or capacitor an the Zener vokage together determine how much total output ‘urrent willbe availble, Blocking Diode Placement ‘There ave two places where blocking diodes) fer eectifeation ‘an be placed: before the Zener diode and after the Zener diode, Im general placing a blocking diode after the Zener (post Zener’ wil prevent the (admittedly small reverse current flow from the output capacitor trough the Zener. The ‘output capacitor generates reverse current flow through the Zener only during portions ofthe waveform where Vn less than the output capactor voltage. Inclusion of a Post-Zener diode results in 9 tradeoff thatthe output voltage will ‘ypiealy be a diode drop (0.7V) less than the Zener voltage. Full Wave Rectified Circuits: For fulkave rectifeation tobe effective, the cectifation must be performed before the Zener die (that i, the full bridge rectifier must be between the AC source and the Zener diode), This is because the Zener diode will only ‘generate the Zener voltage output whenever a reverse valtageis applied to it. Full wave rectification ensures that Vin is positive, which allows the Zener voltage to be ‘generated, full wave rectification were added afer the Zener diode (between the Zener and the output capactor ‘then the negative portion ofthe AC waveform woul simply result in forward condition through the Zener, which does not generate a useful output voltage. Therefore, fr fll-wave rectification, blocking diodes must always be present before the Zener diode ("pre-Zener’. An optional blocking diode may sllbe placed after the Zener. However, in full wave rected circuits this is typical not done; the oppertunity for the output capacitor to discharge trough the Zener in reverse occurs 50 infrequently that thatthe leakage isnot 2 Half Wove Rectied Cireuits I half wave rectification is used, a single post-Zener blocking diode may be usee with no pre-Zener blocking diode, Post- Zener blocking diodes provide greater benefit ina half wave rected circuit because (as shown inthe waveform of Figure 1) at east 50% ofthe time, Vy sits 3t OV, which is less than the output voltage, giving plenty of opportunity for capacitor leakage through the Zener. The leakage is even move evident in low vatage Zener diades (<6V typically) because their ‘current-voltage curve tends tobe “softer'—that the Zener may start conducting current well before the Zener vokage is reached, In many cases, however, the leakage currents even Without a Post-Zenerblacking diode is usualy low enough thatit isnot 9 concer, PSE [As mentioned previously, there are both resisve and ‘capacitive options forthe input impedance selection. The purpose ofthe input impedance i to provide alarge vokage drop from Vito Vow: FOF resistive input impedance, it should come as no surprise that this large voltage drop generates substantial power les when compared against capactive Input impedance, Table 1 provides 2 comprehensive lst ofthe basic transformerless power supply configurations along with the tradeoffs encountered by each configuration. ‘The basic configurations are constucted from the following options: + Capacitive or Resistive Input Impedance + FullWave or Half Wave Rectfiction + Pre-Zener or Post-Zener Rectification Note that fullwave configurations with post-Zener rectification are entirely excluded from the list because iis not possible to generate ful-wave rectification after the Zener as effectively passed only a half-nave rectified output ‘The Capacitive HalfWave Rectified configuration with Pre Zener Rectification is shown fr ilustrative purposes only as it does nat generate output voltage Resistive Transformerless AC Supply ‘The lowestcost, physcaly-smallest component we can use for input impedance 2; sa resistor, which we wil refer to as Ry or Ry Al oad and Zener diode current flows through R. Large peak voltages (a high 25 Vig ~ Vac) wil exist across Ri, 50 it must be rated to handle high vltage. The combination of high voltage and current flow (equal tothe total load + Zener curtent) results in significant power lot as heat in resistor Ry. resistive transformetess is typically sized to deve relatively small amounts of current (afew. ‘mA) 50 a5 to limit the heat generated by resistor R Te power disipated by resistor Ry fora full wave rectifiers: the RMS vollage across R; squared, dived by the resistance 8, We can aporoximate the RMS voltage across RI from the RMS ofthe input voltage minus the DC output voltage. Wlags — Von? Posh DESIGNER o_l CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote oo2a The equations in the Microchip ‘Application Note AN9S4 (revision A), i \ Transformeress Power Supplies: Resistive and Capacitive have numerous ‘errors and the eader is encouraged to use the corrected equations contained herein instead, and to very designs through simulation 0s wel, Vuen® Xn ea, ae MY Captive Fall Wve Retifnton (ProZone Awl > wl Fae he Capito Hal Wine ti (rea Table 1. Transformerless Power Supply Configurations and Tradeoffs More efficient than resistive Physically larger and higher material cst than resistive “Provides twice the output curent ofthe half-wave capacitive -DC output ground netted to AC neutral cannot crive SCRS/TRIACS rectly “Mare efcent than ressive Physically larger and higher material cost than resistive Provides haf the output current ofthe fullwave capactive DC output ground tied to AC neutral; SCRE/TRIACS can be driven directly -No reverse curtent loss from output capacitor through Zener ‘iply does nok work, Output caren for capacive supply determined by The dade blocks eapctor Gy ftom discharging, so dv = Oana thus = ven e Fae te [ess ecient than capactive Gignificant heat generated by Ry Physically smaller and lower materi cost than capacitive Provides twice the output cutent ofthe half-wave resistive DC output ground not ted to AC neutral cannot drive SCRS/TRIACS crectly “Ra power loss is twice as much a6 resistive hall-wave pre-Zener -Slight reverse curent lass from output capacitor through Zener (can be mitigated with addtional blocking code) vod Kid ty Boon 5 “as ficient than capacitive significant heat generated by Ra Physically smaller and lower material cost than capacitive Provides half the output curent of the fullwave resistive -DC output ground tied to AC neutral SCR/TRIACS can be driven direct “Output blocking diode drop reduces Vay below Zener voltage Re power loess twice as much as resistive hallawave pre-Zener No reverse curentlss from output capacitar through Zener 255 efficient than capacitive significant heat generated By Ra Physically smaller and lower material cost than capacitive Provides half the output curent ofthe fullwave resistive -DC output ground tied to AC neutral SCR/TRIACS can be driven direct “Wan is not reduced by the presence of a blocking diode Re power oss is half as much 98 resistive half-wave post-Zener Slight reverse curent lass from output capacitor through Zener (can be mitigated with addtional blocking diode) DESIGNER o_l CIRCUITS, LLC For half-wave rectifer with the blocking diode pre-zener, the effective input RMS voltage is reduced Vinaus yy CR — Ye All current that flows through R; has the potentialto become ‘output curent tis only when the Zener diode conducts ‘current thatthe current lost as heat inthe Zener ‘Otherwise, the output capacitor effectively stores Ry cure, allowing loads to draw current fom the output eapacitor as needed. Based on capacitor charge (amp-second) balance Principles, we know thatthe output capacitor wll provide as ‘many amp-seconds ta the load ast receives from Ry, Thus, the average curent through Ry represents the maximum average output current thatthe resistive transformerless power supply can generate, The word "maximum is used here because less current can always be delivered tothe ‘output (down to On which case the Zener consumes the unused current Ry wll pass an average current based onthe average voltage copplied acres it Far a full wave rectified AC input, tis means ‘the output curent willbe based on the average ofthe absolute valve ofthe AC waveform. Looking back at Figure 1 forthe full wave output, we se that simply calculating the average AC voltage forthe postive Y of one sine wave peti will provie the average AC volage forthe entire ‘waveform, ( Ver) sna pe Vera) BEE 8D) intranpateane F (on Veo fancmatiane z (We mma aiare = 0637 Fora half wave rectified AC input instead, this means the ‘output curent will be based haf ofthe average ofthe positive part ofthe AC waveform (because the other hal of ‘he waveform will be OV). Ths effectively reduces the average output current by half compared tothe fullwave rectified configuration. Me Vener) festmarntywave = 0.3182 DesignNote oor Advanced calculation: As 3 technical mater, the voltage ‘cross the resistor in both cases is reduced by the output voltage. For small output voltages (less than TOV) iis reasonable to use Vj anu whereas fr large output voltages > 10, simclation i preferred because the voltage 31055 Ry begins looking less an es lke 9 normal sinusoid, The more complete equation fr full wave rectification is ee Note thatthe equation above neclects any pre- and post- blocking diode vokage drop fr simplicity, but this can be lumped into Van if desired, For half wave rectifeation, the only change is that denominator x ~ 0 becomes 2x —0 Soaemasnaiwape = $+ In all cases, the worst-case heat generated by a Zener diode Patna = Venrbnnar Device tolerances and safety margin (ypicaly reducing power ratings of components by 50%) should be considered nen sizing components for power loss. Further guidance for worst-case power sizing is provided in the notes of the accompanying spreadsheet, Capacitive Transformerless AC Supply ‘Typically «capacitive transformeress supply is used to delivery larger amounts of current (tens of millamps) than resistive transformerless supplies, specially because the improved efficiency enables it without aditional cooling Ifwe use a capacitor (Cor Gy for input impedance 2, the efficiency improves because we are no longer “losing to heat” the curent that was flowing through tas Rs, Rather, the amp-seconds are stored inthe capacitance of Cy without loss, and then Cis escharged without los. Instead ofthe output cutent being related to! itis related to C22 Input Resistance for tnrush Limiting Despite the naturally reduced losses for the capactive transtorerless supply, resistive losis sl added back in intentionally As for why if capacitor i connected directly tothe mains at an instant when the AC voltage sat 2 peak value, the large voltage wil rapidly charge up the espactor, which appears (albeit briefly to be a short circuit. The high DESIGNER oie CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote ooza current that charges up the capacitance can potentially exceed upstream circuit beaker curent limits, causing them to trip and generate localized power outages. Additional, the high inush current ean cause undesirable arcing atthe rmament the device is plugged in. To prevent high inrush currents, 9 small resistance is usualy placed in series with The resistance should be small enough thatit does not generate much heat but should be large enough that it limits short circuit currents to acceptable levels. Common OVAC household circuit breakers inthe US are typically rated for 15A.IfSAis an acceptable maximum short circuit current, then the resistance should be no les than \VpkISA = T70V/SA = 340. For the invush current to remain less than OAA, then R; = 4700 will do nicely. You ‘The steady state power los (as heat) incurred by this ditional resistance vill based an be the maximum output current ofthe supply Pr, = armas For capacitive transformerless power supplies, theres 3 ‘wadeott between reducing invush current and reducing power consumed by the resistor. I the transformetiess power supply is designed for a maximum output current of 30mA. then Ry = 349 (for SA ‘max inrush current) wll generate 0.03W of heat, while inrush current will be limited to Likewise, Ry» 4700 (for OAR max inrush current) wll generate just under SW of est Sizing the Input Capacitor ‘The input capacitor size determines how much output current avilable will be avaible from the capacitive ‘ransformerless power supply. The capacitor must be capable ‘of handing positive and negative voltage (S0:n0 aluminum electrolytic} Te meet UL safety requirements the capacitor must be rated for use in series with the mains whichis ‘typically a poy ln capacitor, The larger the input capacitor, the greater the output curren, according tothe well-known relationshis: © ortocthis application e.~c, However, the irush-limiting input resistance Ry alzo provides some impedance which effectively reduces the voltage presented tothe capacitor. To calculate the maximum output curren, 3 method very similar to the resistive power supply is used, but Ris replaced by with the combined impedance ofthe resistor and capacitor, Z.. The equation to caleulate output current fora full wave-rectfied capacitive tansformeress power supply is Gout max guttwase = 0.637 - 8 — Verner) 2+ (be) [@0° aap) hich requies use of the Pythagorean Theorem, ‘Aare fret the more compraensive vation af the equation wth mare accurate tegration mits and incliing the volage drop of blocking bodes. Be aware tht designs which rece ta mich ccney kay fas te bile ‘lesgn margin to operate robust in ea word fall dc toerances, temperature vray, an ne voltage S08 fae pa Vener) ino dd 2+ (te) i” (are) ‘The equation fora half wave rectified capactive twanstormertess power supply is alo very similar, having only half the output current ofthe fall wave version: Won (oxemarnaruaye = 0318 (Won ~ Veer) sin a TAT fae (x 1) [+a The input resistance wil imitinrush current, but wl also consume power, Unfortunately, the added impedance also reduces the avaiable output current. The “Input Resistor Tradeot? worksheet in the spreacsheet that accompanies this document helps to compare these competing objectives olla DESIGNER CIRCUITS, LLC DesignNote oo2a ‘of resistor power consumption, output current, and werst- case inrush current. ‘As 9 general rule of thumb, most applications achieve a reasonable balance when the percentage of resistive impedance is around 10% ofthe input capacitor impedance: ee 24) "= 5a, Input Capacitor Safe Discharge ‘When a copactive trnsformerless power supply is disconnected from the AC mains, there is no guarantee that the capacitor wll ben a discharged state. This creates a high vokage safety hazard on 2 circuit that would normally be presumed as safe when disconnected, To mitigate this concern high value cesistor is usually places in paral with ‘the capacitor. A 1Mo will ypcalysufice. The resistor needs tobe rated to handle atleast the peak vllage ofthe cuit etic eens (ther considerations one may make when designing teansformerless power supplies include autput voltage ipa, support for multiple output vohages, power los in the Zener liodes, and when to ure fll wave vs, half wave rectification. ‘Output Ripple With 6oHz AC input voltage, the output capacitor wil have 602 ripple for a half wave rectified circuit, and 120+ ripple {ora full wave rectified circuit For the same rated output ctr, the fll wave rectified circ will have half 25 much ‘output ripple as the hal wave rectified circut. The peak voltage of the ripple willbe atthe Zener vatage, which should be taken into consideration when observing ‘maximum and minimum veltage thresholds ef the load, ‘The magnitude of voltage ripe will ary erect withthe amount of load current, more load curcent wil result in 9 higher magnitude of voltage ripple. Simulation is recommended ta determine whether the expected ripple is acceptable For applications which generate reater-than-desied ripple ‘the output can be conditioned with an LDO or small C-9C power converter, both of which provide power supaly ripple rejection (PSRR). When using an LOO, the Zener should be about to 2V above the LDO output voltage to ensure that the minimum dropout Knit is met ‘When using a DC-DC converter on the output ofthe ‘ransformerless power supply there is an opportunity to significantly vay the votage being fed to the DC-DC converter, which allows fer oreater output currents With a ‘ransformerless power supply, currents typically limited toa ‘ew tens of mA because of resistive heat losses, The average ‘maximum output current must flow through 9 resistor (either Input impedance resistor or inrush limiting resistor with high voltage across it, which can generate substantal heaton the ‘order of watts, If 2 step-down DC-OC converter is used on the output of 2 ‘tanstormertess power supply, a higher autput voltage (e, 24VDC) can be ceduced tothe desired voltage (¢9, 30VDC) efficiently, allowing more low voltage current to be available, ‘even reasonably upwards of 100m, In such applications, the heat generated by the Zener diode (under no-load concitions) may then become the limiting constraint. This benef, ae wells the reduces autput ripple, should be considered against the higher cost af adding 8 DC-DC converter ‘The Zener will dissipate power inthis czcuit. In the worst

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