Power Supplies & Electronic Loads
Power Supplies & Electronic Loads
Power supplies and electronic loads are fundamental instruments in electronics development, production testing, and research laboratories. Power supplies deliver stable, controllable DC or AC voltage and current to power devices under test (DUT), while electronic loads simulate real-world electrical loads by absorbing and dissipating power from the DUT — enabling comprehensive characterization of batteries, converters, inverters, and power management circuits.
This category spans a wide range of products: from benchtop laboratory supplies used by engineers during prototyping, to programmable high-power rack-mount systems deployed in automated production test environments, to high-voltage supplies for insulation and dielectric testing. AC power sources replicate grid conditions for testing power conversion equipment and verifying compliance with international standards.
Typical Applications
- Device characterization and circuit development in electronics R&D laboratories
- Automated functional and burn-in testing on electronics manufacturing lines
- Battery simulation for mobile device, EV, and energy storage system testing
- Power converter and inverter efficiency measurement and validation
- High-voltage insulation and dielectric strength testing in aerospace and industrial applications
- Grid simulation for testing renewable energy equipment and power conversion systems
Popular Brands
Keysight Technologies, Keithley (a Tektronix company), and B&K Precision are leading suppliers of laboratory DC power supplies. Elektro-Automatik and Chroma offer high-power programmable systems for production and energy applications. Pacific Power provides precision AC power sources for compliance testing. Rigol and Aim-TTi serve cost-sensitive R&D and educational markets.
