Re: Power Supplies, Saving Money, and switching vs. Linear?

[Byron Hynes <bph@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am contimplating running all my 12V from a battery charged by a solar panel
and a regulator. FWIW.

> My electronics/wiring closet is costing $56/month to run. Ouch. Too
> much! So one-by-one I am changing things to be more power-conscious.
>
> Starting with a big linear 12V power supply. Altronics 12V, 4A type
> linear power supply with battery backup: standard for alarms (a few
> years back). I currently draw about 500 ma continuously, (Not sure
> what my peaks are, but bells and sirens are powered separately.
>
> This draws around 1.1 A on the AC line, so 132 Watts continuously. Big
> transformer, always warm. Seems wasteful.
>
> IF I SWITCH TO A NEWER, SWITCHING POWER SUPPLY, say the Elk P412 (or
> any other you recommend) WOULD I DRAW MEASURABLY LESS AC CURRENT?
>
> I am powering various motion detectors,  InfraRed repeaters (Niles), a
> small, 7 Watt audio amplifier and a few other devices.  Would the 100
> MV ripple on the Elk power supply bring any problematic noise along
> with it?
>
> Thanks for your suggestions
>
> -Andrew
>