Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Electric power conversion
Summary
In all fields of electrical engineering, power conversion is the process of converting electric energy from one form to another. A power converter is an electrical or electro-mechanical device for converting electrical energy. A power converter can convert alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) and vice versa; change the voltage or frequency of the current or do some combination of these. The power converter can be as simple as a transformer or it can be a far more complex system, such as a resonant converter. The term can also refer to a class of electrical machinery that is used to convert one frequency of alternating current into another. Power conversion systems often incorporate redundancy and voltage regulation.
Power converters are classified based on the type of power conversion they do. One way of classifying power conversion systems is according to whether the input and output are alternating current or direct current. Finally, the task of all power converters is to "process and control the flow of electrical energy by supplying voltages and currents in a form that is optimally suited for user loads".
DC-to-DC converter
The following devices can convert DC to DC:
Linear regulator
Voltage regulator
Motor–generator
Rotary converter
Switched-mode power supply
The following devices can convert DC to AC:
Power inverter
Motor–generator
Rotary converter
Switched-mode power supply
Chopper (electronics)
The following devices can convert AC to DC:
Rectifier
Mains power supply unit (PSU)
Motor–generator
Rotary converter
Switched-mode power supply
AC-to-AC converter
The following devices can convert AC to AC:
Transformer or autotransformer
Voltage converter
Voltage regulator
Cycloconverter
Variable-frequency transformer
Motor–generator
Rotary converter
Switched-mode power supply
Three-phase electric power
There are also devices and methods to convert between power systems designed for single and three-phase operation.
The standard power voltage and frequency vary from country to country and sometimes within a country.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (5)
CH-426: Artificial photosynthesis
This class is intended to make students familiar with dye sensitized solar cells. It presents the principle of design and rationalize the influence of various components on the power conversion effici
EE-360: Energy conversion
L'objectif de ce cours est d'introduire les systèmes et outils liés à la conversion d'énergie, en se référant au contexte particulier de la production d'énergie électrique, qu'elle soit conventionnell
EE-465: Industrial electronics I
The course deals with the control of grid connected power electronic converters for renewable applications, covering: converter topologies, pulse width modulation, modelling, control algorithms and co