Electronic Enthusiasts Network reported (text / Cheng Wenzhi) According to industry insiders, starting from the second half of this year, the domestic sales of outdoor power supplies, which were originally mainly exported overseas, also began to boom. Many people may not be too familiar with outdoor power supplies. In fact, in simple terms, it is a large power bank. The difference is that it can output AC and DC, and can support various electronic devices. It can not only charge mobile phones, but also Drive fans, network equipment, laptops, and even cook with a rice cooker, and more.

  For application scenarios, in a nutshell, whenever electricity is required, outdoor power supplies can help to solve the electricity demand. For example, it is suitable for outdoor travel scenarios such as self-driving camping, RV travel, fishing, and hunting, and can provide power for smartphones, tablet computers, drones, projectors, lighting, car refrigerators, rice cookers and other equipment. It can also solve power shortage problems such as power shortage in disasters, power outages, and emergency rescue. If combined with solar panels to form a small-scale solar power generation system, in the event of grid paralysis and damage after the disaster, it can realize continuous off-grid power generation for the post-disaster life and ensure the basic living needs of the disaster victims.

Figure: Application diagram of outdoor power supply in outdoor scenarios (Source: Huabao New Energy Prospectus)

Outdoor power supply market is booming

Before last year, outdoor power supplies were mainly exported to Europe and the United States. Because the European and American outdoor markets are relatively mature, due to their high degree of urbanization and strong per capita spending power, Europeans and Americans often choose outdoor activities such as outdoor tourism, camping, and fishing in their spare time. For example, in the United States, according to the website of the Outdoor Foundation, the number of people who participate in outdoor activities every year in the United States has remained above 48% all year round. Outdoor power products are very popular in Europe and America due to their large capacity, high power, safety and portability.

  Compared with the United States, China's outdoor market is still in its infancy. According to the statistics of China Outdoor Alliance, 130 million people in my country participate in outdoor leisure activities every year, accounting for 9.5% of the total population. Compared with 48% in the United States, there is still a big gap. However, with the continuous development of my country's economy and the further improvement of per capita consumption capacity, the number of people participating in outdoor activities will continue to increase.

Functional parameters of outdoor power supply

Generally speaking, outdoor power supplies have both AC output and DC output functions. For the AC output function, the DC power is passed through the inverter and converted into AC power for output. It can be determined whether to output 220V, 110V, or 100V according to the mains voltage standard of different countries.

  The DC output function can output conventional 48V, 24V, 19V, 12V, or 5V through the DCDC converter.

  There are many parameters of outdoor power supply, but general users need to pay attention to the following:

  One is power. The higher the power, the more electronic devices that can supply power, and the richer the content of outdoor activities. For example, the power of the car refrigerator is 150W. If you want to drive the car refrigerator, the output power of the outdoor power supply cannot be lower than 150W. Now the output power of outdoor power supply is generally 250W, 500W, 600W, 1000W, 1100W, 1800W, 2200W and so on. According to Sun Zhongwei, chairman of Huabao Xinneng, the current mainstream output power in the market is about 500W, but there is a trend towards high output power.

  The second is to look at the battery capacity. The larger the capacity, the longer the power supply time.

The third is to look at the type and number of power supply ports. The domestic outdoor power supply has been fully equipped with 220V AC output. The AC port supports most electronic devices such as sockets; USB ports and Type-C ports support fast charging. Now most of them can support PD and QC fast charging, which can improve the charging efficiency of mobile devices; some outdoor power supplies also support car Charging output; in addition, the charging interface also needs to be paid attention to.

  The fourth is to look at the charging efficiency. The mainstream outdoor power supply can use sockets, car chargers, and solar panels to charge itself.

  Fifth, look at the accessory functions, such as some outdoor power supplies with LED lights, some can be monitored in real time through APP, remote control switches, and some support wireless charging, etc.

What device demand will outdoor power supply drive?

From the previous introduction, we probably also know the general situation of outdoor power supply. First of all, it is an energy storage device, and it definitely needs batteries; in addition, because it needs to output AC voltage, it needs the support of an inverter; in addition to these two important components, AC-DC, DC-DC also need to be used , MCU, fast charging main control chip, and MOSFET, etc.

  First of all, the safety of lithium battery products is very important, and if you want to achieve higher safety, you need a more accurate battery management system (BMS), which includes the performance of the battery management device itself, which is mainly reflected in voltage, current, and temperature measurement accuracy. Only if the measurement accuracy is more accurate, the battery protection process can be made more secure, reliable and stable, and the battery energy can be more fully utilized.

  Secondly, the AC-DC power conversion chip industry is very important. According to Zhang Haitao, general manager of major customer sales in TI China, TI's high-efficiency AC/DC power conversion combines 6.6kW three-phase bidirectional ANPC three-level inverter and PFC power stage reference design and other small form factor designs that help integrate power conversion with battery technology for cell balancing, monitoring, and protection. Of course, in addition to TI, ST, Infineon, etc. also have related products to provide.

  Thirdly, in terms of DCDC devices, Ou Xuechun, senior system and marketing manager of Maoruixin, told electronic enthusiasts that since the battery voltage of the outdoor power supply may reach 54V, it is necessary to choose a high-voltage DCDC controller with a voltage of more than 100V; in addition, if the cigarette lighter interface is used , you need to support high current, because the cigarette lighter interface is generally 12V/10A. He also revealed that some customers have used Moray's MK9218 on the cigarette lighter interface. In addition, there are also manufacturers such as Tor Micro, Eneng Micro, Jiehuat, Silijie, Silan Micro, and Nanxin who also have related chips to choose from.

  The fourth is the PD fast charging main control chip, which has developed rapidly in China in recent years. Many chip manufacturers at home and abroad have launched related chips, such as NXP, Dialog, Yingjixin, Richtek, PI and other manufacturers. related chips.

  Fifth, in fact, almost all outdoor power supplies have a cooling fan, a high-end useful BLDC motor. In the future, with the increasing output power and capacity, it is possible to use liquid cooling to dissipate heat, and liquid cooling requires not only coolant, but also a water pump to assist heat dissipation.

Epilogue

The hot energy storage market will inevitably bring about an increase in the demand for related semiconductor devices. Next, we will introduce more specific solutions from more chip manufacturers in outdoor power supplies.

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