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GENESYS+™
12
Dec

Why is the GENESYS+™ so quiet?

Posted by Dulcie on December 12, 2017

The GENESYS+™ has significantly lower levels of audible noise when compared to the first generation Genesys™ series. This is due to the utilisation of an ambient temperature sensor in one of the microcontrollers, located at the front of the power supply where the cool air is drawn in. The sensor provides temperature information that is processed by a fan speed control algorithm.

When operated in a room temperature of 20°C, power supply internal temperatures are lower than when operated in an ambient of 50°C. Similarly, operating at no load results in significantly lower internal temperatures than at full load. The fan control circuit processes both the ambient temperature data and the output load level, adjusting the fan speed accordingly to maintain safe and reliable component temperatures.

Reduced fan speeds lower the amount of audible noise produced, important when the power supply is used in a laboratory environment where engineers and technicians are present. When operated in a 50°C ambient, human presence will be minimal, and fan noise is less important. Lower speed fans also have two other benefits – longer fan life and less dust and contaminants are drawn in, increasing power supply reliability.

Fan noise comparisons for no load and full load are shown below. Figure 1 Fan noise at 30°C, measured 1m from the front of the power supply.

No Load

Full Load

The two columns on the right of the charts refer to A-weighting and C-weighting sensitivity scales for noise measurement. A-weighting follows the frequency sensitivity of the human ear at low noise levels and C-weighting at high noise levels.

As a reference, the older Genesys™ series, with fixed speed fans, has LAeq (Equivalent Continuous Level) audible noise levels of 52.1 [dB] at no load and 61.8 [dB] at full load. GENESYS+™ has LAeq levels of 44.4 [dB] and 57 [dB] respectively.

TDK-Lambda UK
www.emea.lambda.tdk.com/uk/genesysplus