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I recently bought a Trust 10000mAh powerbank for 18$ and when I put it to my ear was shocked to hear that there is a DC-DC boost converter inside it to supply the 1A and 2.1A 5v USB outputs.
I was going to use it to power a gadget with constant ~100mA load, but as I understand boost converters are very inefficient at low loads.
Seems like a huge waste of energy to me. Why not use the cells in series of 2 and just use a 5V voltage controller to step down the voltage?
This would save energy on all the loading situations when compared to boost converter.
Am I missing something here?
>Pic somewhat related
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>>60728303
If you step down the voltage to 5V efficiently you'll have to use a buck converter which is basically the same as a boost converter. If it's properly designed it should be quite efficient unless you really go to low loads like 1mA or something.
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>>60728303
Depends what boost converter is being used, but as far as I'm aware boost converters tend to have an efficiency of around 80-85% or about 90% at their peak.
>why not use cells in series of 2
Because that means a lower capacity in that same volume.
Also, like >>60728416 says, buck/boost converters are almost the same.
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Ok thanks for the answers.
From what i read online the difference would be ~5% between the two methods. I cant measure the low current performance of the power pack directly anyways, cause I want to keep the warranty.
Il just see how long it lasts with the given load and return the powerbank if it is below 60% efficiency.
Danish consumer laws....
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