Effective power management is essential for effectively distribute, store and control power in electrical circuits of any size and purpose. By this, energy waste is reduced, and components within the circuit are also protected from being exposed to overcurrent and getting overheated. Our attention as always are not macro power systems but micro systems such as in robotics, computers and small electronic devices.
Let’s list certain components and aspects of power management.
Voltage Regulators: Obviously the most fundamental components of a circuit to manage proper power distribution are voltage regulators. These provide necessary voltage as needed in a circuit. Voltage regulators are of different types.
Power rails: It is a path in the circuit that provides a given voltage to multiple components in the circuit which serves as a reference voltage in the circuit.
Current and Voltage sensors are used to meeasure if the distribution is working properly and to identify possible faults or inefficiencies.
Fans, heat sinks and thermal cutoffs are used to prevent overheating and damage.
Capacitors are used to temporarily store energy.
Power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC): This can be considered as the brains, the central control of this whole operation, meaning, coordinating and optimizing power management in the circuit and also protecting it when necessary. A PMIC can be as a single chip, which helps efficient utilization of space constraints in electronic devices. The tasks of a PMIC include:
Monitoring the voltage, temperature and current levels of the system, to ensure they work within required values and activating overcurrent protection, thermal shutdown, and under-voltage lockout mechanisms when necessary.
Managing voltage regulators that we mentioned above, to make sure each part of the circuit receives proper voltage.
It turns power on an off to various parts of the circuit to manage power effectively and save power and also to turn them on and offin required sequence by the needs of the system.
Monitoring and optimizing usage of energy storage components like batteries and capacitors which includes charging rates, protection against overcharging.
Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) adjusts the voltage and frequency of controlling components to optimize and save power.
