Power Controllers

Power controllers are semiconductor devices which control the power (the voltage and/or current) supplied to an electrical circuit. They work in a similar way to circuit breakers but are much more efficient and faster at turning off the power. Instead of disconnecting power when it reaches the trip point, it will turn it off as soon as it sees even a gradual energy increase. In this way, it can protect any equipment from damage which might be caused by power surges or spikes. There are various types of power controllers. Some are analogue-based and some can be used for AC, DC or for both currents. There are micro controllers which consist of a complete protection system on a chip or these devices can be programmable, either by computer or by a specific programming method. Newer smart controllers have features such as alarm strategies and diagnostic load fault detection to ensure the correct functioning of a circuit and, if necessary, its repair. Because of their high speeds, power controllers tend to be used more in the fields of manufacturing and engineering where a power surge protector might not be considered fast enough to safeguard expensive and sensitive pieces of machinery.