Supercapacitors for Power Backup Applications

Overview

Power backup requirements are often one of the most important design parameters that engineers spend their time on. For the wide range of applications that demand power backup, designing in proper energy needs can mean the difference of seconds or even milliseconds, and in turn saving or losing data.

Traditionally, batteries were the first option for design engineers seeking power backup solutions. However, as environmental concerns and constant maintenance costs persist with batteries, alternative energy storage devices are gaining more consideration. Electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs), commonly known as supercapacitors or ultracapacitors, are seeing the most interest among alternative devices. Supercapacitors are large energy storage capacitors, typically in the hundreds of millifarads range and up, that bridge the gap between electrolytic capacitors and batteries.

Supercapacitors are well suited for power backup applications, especially where battery replacement and maintenance costs are very high, or where long and stable power source lifetime and reliability is needed. In addition to system cost savings, supercapacitors have a longer cycle life, wider operating temperature range, better current handling capabilities, and are more environmentally and commercially acceptable.

This presentation will cover a brief look into why supercapacitors are growing in popularity for power backup systems, their comparison versus batteries, and even go through a mathematical design-in example.