When purchasing your next power supply, it’s important to find a product that meets your needs for teaching and learning. Consider the following points to help you make your decision:
Voltage & Current Range
Think about which age groups will be using these power supplies, and the practicals they are likely to be doing – as a minimum, consider whether or not these power supplies need to be used for any required practicals, and use this as your minimum requirement. Look for products that offer sufficient voltage as well as current capacity.
Look for short-circuit protection, overload protection and automatic shut off features. These features are not only important for student safety, but also to protect your power supplies from potentially naughty students! All our power supplies are robust, safe for students to handle – they are all CE marked, to ensure they meet legal safety standards.
Some practicals may require a more stable output, to prevent fluctuations that may impact results in an experiment – higher degrees of precision are often required for A Level activities. In addition to offering power supplies with a ‘smoothed’ output, we also offer digital displays. These provide better accuracy and ease of monitoring, compared to models with analogue controls.
Depending on your intended uses, you might want to look for additional features such as voltage locks, multiple outputs or connectivity. Voltage locks can be helpful for classes with additional needs, who might benefit from equipment being correctly set up for them, before starting a practical. Power supplies with multiple outputs can be great for helping your budget stretch further, as they may allow more student groups to work from a single power supply.
Supplier Support
As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we are proud to work with suppliers who offer excellent long-term support for their products. Both Lascells and IPC offer spare parts and repairs for their products, beyond the standard manufacturer’s warranty.
Power supplies can offer AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current) – and some offer both. Some experiments may require specific waveforms or a specific type of current to deliver the expected results.
Key Terms Explained
- Rectified DC Output – An output from an AC wave input transformed into DC.
- Smoothed Output – After rectification any AC ripple is removed to give a consistent DC waveform
- Regulated Output – The DC output remains at the same set voltage throughout the experiment even when the circuit is ‘loaded’
Contact our Territory Sales Managers if you need a demo, support or tailored advice to help you find the perfect power supplies for your department.
View our full range of power supplies here.