Difference between power adapter and voltage regulator

1. Power adapter is the power supply conversion equipment of small portable electronic equipment and electronic appliances. It is generally composed of shell, power transformer and rectifier circuit. According to its output type, it can be divided into AC output type and DC output type. Frankly, it can be understood as a voltage converter, such as converting 110-220 V AC voltage into fixed DC voltage.

2. A voltage regulator is a device that stabilizes the output voltage. The voltage regulator is composed of constant voltage, control circuit and servo motor. When the input voltage or load changes, the control circuit samples, compares and amplifies, and then drives the servo motor to rotate to change the position of the carbon brush of the voltage regulator. By automatically adjusting the coil turns ratio, the output voltage is stable.

When the power adapter is not loaded, the voltage is higher. If you pick up the load, you will find that its voltage will drop. This is limited by its own function, just to provide a suitable voltage to the load. The main function of the voltage regulator is to stabilize the voltage. It will stabilize the voltage through it to a certain range. If it exceeds or falls below this value, it will act, and the power adapter will not have this function. The two can be distinguished according to the use. If the load power supply requirements are not high, they can be used instead of each other. However, if the load has high requirements for the power supply, even if the voltage change of 1V is not enough, then the voltage regulator must be used, otherwise the power supply must be burned without burning the load.