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
TDK-Lambda Americas Inc.
National City, CA | 800-275-5224TDK-Lambda Americas designs and manufactures a wide range of AC-DC and DC-DC power supplies and EMI Filters for Medical, Telecom, Industrial, Datacom, and Test & Measurement applications worldwide. The company has been a major provider of power solutions since 1948. TDK-Lambda is a subsidiary of the TDK Corporation, a leading global electronics company.
Acopian Technical Company
Easton, PA | 800-523-9478For 4 decades, Acopian Technical Company has specialized in long lasting power supplies (0 volts – 30000 V). We offer AC power supplies, DC power supplies, AC to DC converters, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), AC to DC power supplies & high voltage power supplies. With quality customer service & technical support, we have thousands of power supplies for thousands of applications.
Applied Power Systems, Inc.
Hicksville, NY | 516-935-2230APS are specialists in power conversion and the manufacture of high performance power systems. Products include power converters and inverters; motor drives and brakes; battery chargers; AC and DC power supplies; driver circuits and more. Custom and standard power systems are available.
Triad Magnetics
Perris, CA | 951-277-0757Our company offers a variety of standard and custom power supplies. These items are great for a wide range of applications. If you have any special requests then please let our representatives know. If you ever run into any questions or issues then our engineers are available to assist you. There is no project too challenging for our teams! Give us a call today!
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.
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.