Introduction to power electronics

Basics of Power electronics

What is Power electronics?

Everything that enables the transformation of electrical energy by using semiconductor switches ( Mosfets , IGBTs etc) and reactive elements , i.e. inductors and capacitors, with high efficiency

Why do we need to transform electrical energy?

We do this to match the characteristic of the load with the one of the source.

E.g —> the battery charger of a laptop converts AC electrical energy from the grid into DC to charge the battery

Also To match the characteristic of a source with those of a different source

E.g —> Photovoltaic panels are DC generators and a DC/AC converter is required to inject the generated power into the AC grid

Also To change the voltage level in different parts of the same systems.

E.g —> the battery of your laptop will provide power to the cpu through DC/DC converter that usually takes the voltage from about 19V down to a few volts

Also to provide isolation between two sections of the same system