Specifications

8
Connect Power Supplies in Series or
Parallel for Higher Output
Connecting two or more power sup-
plies in series (Figure 1) provides
higher voltages, but observe these
precautions:
• Never exceed the floating voltage
rating of any of the supplies.
• Never subject any of the power
supplies to negative voltages.
Program each power supply indepen-
dently. If two supplies are used, pro-
gram each one for 50% of the total
output voltage. If three supplies are
used, program each supply for about
33% of the total output voltage. Set
the current limit of each supply to the
maximum that the load can safely
handle.
Connecting two or more power sup-
plies in parallel (Figure 2) provides
higher currents, but again, observe
these precautions:
• One unit must operate in constant
voltage (CV) mode and the other(s)
in constant current (CC) mode.
• The output load must draw enough
current to keep the CC unit(s) in
CC mode.
Program the current limit of each
unit to its maximum value and pro-
gram the output voltage of the CV
unit to a value slightly lower than the
CC unit(s). The CC units supply the
maximum output current that they
have been set to and drop their out-
put voltage until it matches the volt-
age of the CV unit, which supplies
only enough current to fulfill the total
load demand.
Figure 1: Connecting units in series
Figure 2: Connecting units in parallel
Tip
7