Contributing

Can 2 power supplies share a common ground?

Can 2 power supplies share a common ground?

If the two power supplies share a common ground, or can be made to, then it is no problem. However, the return wire must be sized for the sum of the 8 V and 12 V currents.

Can I connect 2 power supplies together?

Yes, you can split the load between two power supplies without any issue, just be sure to track how many amps each is providing. This is routinely done in a house for it’s line currents. Think a breaker or fuse for each set of controls.

What is common on a power supply?

GND or COMMON refers to any node in your circuit that you wish to be used as a 0V reference point. Generally speaking, when we say GND, COMMON GND, or EARTH GND, we mean 0V reference point that is at the same potential as mother earth. A +/- 15VDC power supply is actually two power supplies, each supplying 15VDC.

Can you connect two grounds together?

In general, grounds and common paths should not run parallel to each other, as they may induce cross currents.

Can separate circuits share a ground?

The NEC 2011 code stipulates that each branch circuit must have an equipment ground. It is possible to share them when they are in the same raceway, and if the circuits are all of the same amperages, it can be one ground wire.

What are the three types of power supply?

There are three subsets of regulated power supplies: linear, switched, and battery-based. Of the three basic regulated power supply designs, linear is the least complicated system, but switched and battery power have their advantages.

Why do I have 2 ground wires?

The two ground wires MUST be connected to preserve the ground on the remainder of the circuit. They should be wirenutted together along with a third short piece of bare or green wire of the same size, this becomes your pigtail.

What do you call the ground of two power supplies?

If you have more than one voltage in your design, you will normally not talk about ground but of 0V. If your two powers are both positive supplies, lets say +5V and +12V, you connect the minus of both powers together and call it 0V.

Is it safe to connect the grounds of two power supplies?

For common electronics applications it’s generally safe to use a common ground for things like multiple power supplies in the range of -12 to +12 volts or so, the less current you’re dealing with the better. What worries me is it sounds like you’re using rectified mains voltage and logic voltage totally un issolated from each other…. bad idea.

Can you connect two power supply GND together?

So yes, most of the time you have to connect GND together. If you connect ground of two voltage systems like 5V and 24V then any fault in 5V will burn out other 24V lines. We in industry keep voltage groups isolated (this also safeguard minor overcurrents flowing from high voltage elements to low voltage elements).

Can you use more than one DC power supply?

You can do this for any number of DC supplies, theoretically. Just size each diode for the voltage of all but the power supply it’s biasing, and the current of the complete system. Remember the same current has to go through all power supplies.