2025-09-10

Current Sharing — Ensuring Reliability & Scalability in Industrial Power Systems

Current Sharing — Ensuring Reliability & Scalability in Industrial Power Systems

In industrial automation, communication base stations, servo control, and data center environments, a single power supply often struggles to simultaneously meet the demands of high power, continuous operation, and high reliability. In these scenarios, Current Sharing technology plays a key role in ensuring stable system operation.

☑ What is Current Sharing?

Current Sharing is a technology that allows multiple power supply modules connected in parallel to automatically share the output current. Without this function, one unit may bear an excessive load, leading to reduced efficiency or even overheating and failure. With Current Sharing, systems can ensure:

  • Balanced load distribution: Prevents overloading of a single unit
  • Enhanced redundancy and reliability: Even if one module fails, others continue operating
  • Flexible power expansion: Total output power can be increased by paralleling additional units.

☑ Core Concepts of Current Sharing

In practice, Current Sharing is typically implemented in two ways:

  • Droop Sharing
    Relies on a natural “voltage droop” characteristic, where output voltage decreases slightly as current increases, enabling balanced sharing. It is simple and requires no extra circuitry, but offers limited precision, making it suitable for medium- to low-power applications.
  • Active Current Sharing
    Uses dedicated control ICs or communication lines to coordinate output, with a “master” supply directing the “slave” supplies. This achieves higher accuracy and faster response, making it ideal for high-power, dynamic load, and high-reliability systems.

☑ Three Key Advantages in Industrial Applications

  1. Improved Reliability: Eliminating Single Points of Failure
    In 24/7 operating environments—such as medical, semiconductor, or industrial manufacturing—failure of a single power supply can result in significant losses. Current Sharing ensures balanced load distribution, and when paired with an N+1 redundant design, the system continues operating even if one unit fails.
  2. Modular Design and Power Scalability
    Instead of designing one massive 2000W power supply, multiple 500W modules can be paralleled. This shortens development cycles, simplifies maintenance, and allows greater flexibility as power requirements grow.
  3. Precise Load Sharing Under Dynamic Conditions
    In telecom base stations, servo drives, or server applications, loads can fluctuate rapidly. Active Current Sharing responds in real time, preventing situations where one unit is overloaded while others remain underutilized, thus extending performance and service life.

☑ Design Considerations and Challenges

  • Loop stability:Improper compensation may cause oscillation or efficiency loss.
  • Signal integrity: Control lines must be protected against noise interference.
  • Thermal management: Even with load sharing, thermal conditions vary across modules.
  • Protection mechanisms: OCP/OVP functions must coordinate effectively in parallel systems.

☑ Typical Application Scenarios

  • Data centers and servers:Stable power delivery under high-load conditions
  • Smart manufacturing equipment: Continuous full-load operation with redundancy protection
  • 5G base stations: Efficient parallel power delivery during peak demand

☑ ARCH Current Sharing Solutions

ARCH Electronics offers power supply solutions with Active Current Sharing capability, designed for high-power and mission-critical environments.

  • AQF700(C) Series (700W) — Supports parallel operation of up to two units with active current sharing, ideal for compact, high-reliability systems.
  • AQF1000(C) Series (1000W) — Provides high output power with current sharing support, ensuring flexibility and reliability in large-scale applications.

☑ Conclusion

As industrial applications continue to raise the bar for power performance, Current Sharing has become a standard consideration in power system design. It not only resolves issues of reliability and scalability but also ensures stable power delivery for high-power, long-duration, and mission-critical applications.

📧 Contact ARCH for support or sampling: sales@archcorp.com.tw