Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.
Welcome to our site! Electro Tech is an online community (with over 170,000 members) who enjoy talking about and building electronic circuits, projects and gadgets. To participate you need to register. Registration is free. Click here to register now.
There are several ways to reduce the voltage. Current or power requirements must be known.
If voltage regulation is not an issue then a resistor could accomplish the task if the load is constant. If the load varies or regulation is important then regulators like the LM317 might be a solution - dependent on current and stability requirements. Any of these methods are somewhat wasteful since as 7.5/12 of the total power is lost to heat. On top of the waste the heat has to go somewhere - sometimes that's a bigger problem.
There are power supplies made with discrete components or ICs that can provide the reduced voltage with less waste in power. The complexity and cost of the power supply goes up so you have to decide if it's worth the trouble. In most cases the resistor or simple linear regulator (LM317) is good enough.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.