Simple and Precise Calorimetry Method for Evaluation of Losses in Power Electronic Converters

As power converters become more compact and more efficient, precisely measuring their efficiency becomes increasingly difficult. Calorimetry is an attractive solution to overcome the limits of electrical measurements (poor accuracy, complex integration of voltage and current probes). Although simple it its principle, calorimetry can be complex to implement. Here, we describe a simple adiabatic calorimeter, which only uses low-cost equipment and yet offers good sensitivity (it can be used to measure losses in the ≈ 1–20 W range).