What are electronic DC loads used for?

H&H electronic DC loads are used in the automotive, aerospace, railroad, renewable energy, R&D, medical and military industries. DC loads are used to test the following components:

Power supplies, laboratory power supplies

Static or dynamic loading in various modes, burn-in test. To determine the V/I characteristics of power supplies from open circuit to short circuit, one also needs electronic loads that can regulate high load currents at input voltages close to 0V. For this purpose there are special models of DC loads: PLI ZV series.

Control units

When testing control units, simultaneous loading of several different units is often required by simulating different loads, e.g. in a car. We serve such applications with our modular multi-channel load series PMLA, effectively many electronic DC loads in one housing.

Power distribution, cable trees, fuse boxes

Here, too, many different loads are simulated by several channels of a PMLA multi-channel load.

Batteries and accumulators

Energy storage devices are discharged continuously or with defined load profiles to assess their quality. With the discharge function this is done professionally including protection functions and individual shutdown criteria. To cycle accumulators, devices for charging and discharging are necessary. For this purpose, either a power supply can be added to the system in addition to the electronic load, or a source-sink from H&H, which switches seamlessly between charging and discharging mode. The source-sink is available as a 2- or 4-quadrant power supply.

Fuel cells

The PLI ZV zero-volt models are also used for testing fuel cells, because here one has to deal with voltages far below 1 V at high currents. Impedance spectroscopy is used to examine fuel cells in order to determine, for example, the series resistance or the end of life (EOL). The SCL series is designed even more for high currents down to 0 V.

Solar and photovoltaic panels

For PV panels, the maximum power point (MPP) plays a key role. Our DC loads offer the MPP tracking function either standard or optional, depending on the series. For applications with high demands on the accuracy of current control over wide ranges, we have models with several adjustable current setting ranges in our portfolio: series PLI MR.

Testing and simulating components

such as diodes, rectifiers, fuses …
Testing of continuous, short-time or pulsed current capability of active and passive components. With the V/I-characteristic function of the PLA series, the characteristic curve of a component is reproduced in the electronic load. For this purpose, the load sets the corresponding load current depending on the applied input voltage.