It is the opposite of DC, or direct current, and the electricity reverses direction back and fourth at regular intervals, generally multiple times per second. This alternation is measured in Hertz; in the United States and many other countries, AC power is generated at 60 Hertz, meaning the current alternates 60 times in a second. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
MEGA Electronics, Inc.
New Brunswick, NJ | 732-249-2656MEGA manufactures AC/DC ITE and medical (60601-1 4th ed) power supplies in wall plug in, desk top and open frame packages up to 800W. Designed to get the job done at a reasonable price, supplies carry multiple approvals to make it possible to ship one supply globally.
Quail Electronics, Inc.
Livermore, CA | 800-669-8090At Quail Electronics, we are your power cord specialists. Our power supplies consist of green dot cords, high voltage cords, North American and international cords, specialty cords, plus adapters, plugs and strips.
Marway Power Systems
Irvine, CA | 800-462-7929The power supplies we manufacture are actually solutions for power control, power distribution or power protection for commercial, industrial, military medical and military applications. Our product includes AC/DC power distribution units, custom power supplies, uninterruptible power supplies and more.
Total Power International, Inc.
Lowell, MA | 877-646-0900Total Power Int'l provides customers with high quality & competitively priced power conversion products. We provide AC/DC power supplies ranging from 5 -1500 Watts. Available in U-Bracket, Box, Open Frame, L-Bracket, Wallmounts and External Sizes. DC/DC Modules come in 1-700 Watt size and varying inputs from 4.5-300VDC. Medically approved units are available and we do Custom Design.
Nova Electric
Bergenfield, NJ | 201-385-0500Being the leader in rugged power supply conversion products is where Nova Electric stands. Our power supplies have modular design with replaceable subassemblies. We offer: DC-AC inverters, UPS power systems and frequency converters. We have over 40 years of experience manufacturing AC power sources.
AC Power Supply - Triad MagneticsMost power plants generate AC electricity rather than DC electricity. Power lines, held up by telephone poles that are connected to every residential building and most commercial, carry high voltages of AC power. However, the higher the voltage, the more insulation it requires. Most alternating power is converted inside buildings because many appliances only run on DC power, including printers, laptops, battery chargers and desktop computers.
Other electrical devices found in the home, like lamps, radios, fans, televisions and small appliances run off the electricity directly from the wall outlets, which is the AC power. In industrial applications, devices and machinery like generators, dynamotors, inverters and transformers all use AC power to operate. AC current can also be used in telecommunications to convey information instead of electricity. They are used in radio and telephone lines.
The wavelength of AC power is always a sine wave, which exhibits smooth, repetitive oscillation. The rate of changing direction is called the frequency, which is measured in Hertz. 50 Hertz, for example, refers to the number of back and fourth cycles each second. The frequency of the wave can be increased or decreased dramatically by a transformer, which increases the frequency when the wave must travel great distances.
AC power supplies generally have adjustable output settings for component response testing at different voltages, currents and frequencies, since each application requires different amounts of each because of many different factors, such as distance traveled and maximum voltage. These are also used in testing motors and other electrical equipment whose input valves may vary. AC power comes from a variety of configurations, including bench top, DIN rail, rack mounted and cabinet styles.