WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 – power-up for your control cabinet

By OEM Update Editorial April 4, 2021 3:02 pm

We present the most important functions of the new Pro 2, which provide power for the Power Supply Pro 2: Choose the power of the possible!

Fast, flexible, as cost-effective as possible – in the face of increasing cost pressure, scarce sources and tight delivery times. The demands on the control cabinet industry are steadily increasing. Production processes are undergoing increasing digitisation and automation to reduce costs and save time. That’s where power supplies play a decisive role. But what does a modern power supply look like? And what must it be able to do? With the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2, WAGO launches future-ready devices that power your application: Choose the Power of the Possible!

Save time with modular circuit diagrams

A modern power supply must basically do one thing: Convert alternating current into a safely electrically isolated direct current. It is also necessary to save time and money simultaneously – but how? According to a 2017 study by EPLAN and the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units at the University of Stuttgart, planning and creating the circuit diagram accounts for over 50 percent of the design time. There is significant potential here for savings potential. This study of Control Cabinet Manufacturing 4.0 shows that switching from project-specific or order oriented circuit diagrams to modular circuit diagrams can save up to 45 percent of the time of the engineering process. There is significant potential for optimisation such as this in control cabinet manufacturing and in the power supply, since many work steps are still performed without automation even today. 92 percent of the study participants surveyed still rely on two-dimensional engineering. But why? One industry that is facing particular challenges in this regard is the automotive industry.

Increasing demands on power supplies

If a production system in automobile manufacturing is idle for even a few minutes, it can quickly cost several thousand rupees and mean fewer vehicles produced. That’s all the more exasperating if it’s caused by the failure of a power supply whose original price was only a fraction of these costs. To avoid this, it is essential to choose a reliable power supply. “Availability plays an important role for automobile manufacturers above all else. An important selection criterion for the power supply is its theoretical life expectancy,” says Manfred Grabowski, Automotive Key Account Manager at WAGO. It’s worth taking a close look at the datasheets when selecting the power supplies: Comparable devices may differ significantly upon closer inspection. A long life expectancy is usually also associated with low heat generation and low power loss. The example of power loss makes clear that intelligent selection and dimensioning of power supplies can also reduce energy costs.

The Crucial Difference: the right control cabinet cooling Talking about the difference and challenges, Stefan Wagner, Head – PM – Power Supplies, WAGO Time pressure and competitive pressure are significant challenges facing the industry. Attempts are being made to reduce design time and minimise errors through modularisation and reuse of project designs. Further optimisation down to the device level and use of smart data represent further potential for optimisation. The higher the power loss is, the more the power supply heats up. That affects the control cabinet air conditioning in particular: The costs for cooling the control cabinet increase. Even a couple degrees of extra heat in the control cabinet mean significantly higher energy consumption. Therefore, manufacturers of air conditioners for control cabinets recommend a temperature of 95 °F (35 °C). However, if a higher temperature is set, as is the case with some automotive industry users, for example 100 °F (38 °C), the delta of five degrees contributes significantly to reducing the energy costs and CO2 emissions. The control cabinet components and the power supplies must however be appropriate for this. The designer make need to take the derating curves of individual components into account. But not with the new WAGO Pro 2 Power Supplies, which can operate up to +140 °F (+60 °C) without derating.

Pro 2 – the new heart of your control cabinet:

Advantages of PRO 2

“The variety of power supplies on the market reflects a broad scope of applications. Competition is good for users because it enables them to select the power supply that suits their application,” says Wagner. This is a significant advantage of the new Pro 2 Power Supplies: No other provider offers greater adaptability to the application in a single device. Due to the extensive configuration and monitoring options, the narrow width, the high degree of efficiency, the high reliability and long service life, the customer receives a high performance, future-ready, optimized supply of power to the loads in the control cabinet.

WAGO’s efficient power supplies always deliver a constant supply voltage – whether for simple applications or automation with greater power requirements. A high-efficiency design permits space-saving dimensions; a uniform housing design and a digital twin make the implementation very easy. Another advantage: Plug-in connections enable pre-assembled cabling and faster installation. We present the most important functions of the new Pro 2, which provide power for the Power Supply 4.0: Choose the power of the possible!

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Digitization is today’s buzz word. Processes are becoming more and more interconnected. In addition to functioning as a standard converter, “A modern power supply can provide valuable data that can guide preventive maintenance and service, for example. This makes it possible to represent the load, such as base load, peak load, overload or, if applicable, overvoltage”, adds Wagner. Long-term monitoring makes changes visible that can allow conclusions to be drawn about the aging of loads, for example. Ideally, a power supply with these functions should have a modular structure – the communication channel can be selected, whether via a potential-free message, a configuration connection for service engineers with their laptops on site or continuous communication via standard fieldbus systems, which can be optimally extended at any time with a pluggable communication module.

Power with communication for Industry 4.0

The WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 is structured in such a way that the most important operating status information can be read off the front, or further valuable data can be retrieved through the controller. Real-time status information is essential in order to assess situations in real time and respond deliberately. Therefore, the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 has various functions and components that keep the user informed. The LED bar chart on the front provides a reliable indication of the current output power, as well as overloads/load reserves. Furthermore, the LEDs indicate the selected operating mode and, if worst comes to worst, warnings and errors. In terms of data collection and read-out of status information, the Pro 2 Power Supply can be connected to a dedicated communication module at any time, allowing selection of the desired protocol for coupling to the automation and control level.

Intelligent overload behavior

Applications with high output requirements call for professional power supplies capable of reliably handling power peaks. The WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 gives you the power of the possible for all projects. Its load management features corresponding intelligence – after all, the point is to supply power reliably to your equipment and protect it at the same time. With TopBoost, Power Boost and further parameterizable overload behavior, the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 protects your equipment and provides intelligent current and switching modes.150 percent Power Boost and up to 600 percent TopBoost are available for reliable, fail-safe equipment availability.

Resource-efficient energy use

Small but powerful: The difference lies in the details. We can show how with a small example: The typical efficiency of a simple power supply with nominal power of 960 W is 91 percent. With the Pro

2 Power Supply, the efficiency is 96 percent. At first glance, this five percent doesn’t seem like much, but it makes all the difference: The superior efficiency of the Pro 2 Power Supplies eliminates 55 W of power loss. Calculated with respect to an operating time of five years, this means savings of 198 euros on energy costs and one metric ton of CO2 at the same time. For comparison: A 80-year-old beech tree growing 75 feet (23 m) tall can store one metric ton of CO2 – so with several hundred power supplies in a production line, that would already be a whole forest. As you can see, a small difference but a big effect!

Challenging environmental conditions

Whether in the arctic or the desert – the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 can be started and operated from −40 °C to +70 °C. Low derating begins > 60°C and allows 70 percent output power even in 70°  applications, and even at an elevation of 5,000 m above sea level. Furthermore, the wiring in the WAGO Power Supply Pro 2 is very robust against transients. Overvoltage category III ensures safe operation in power grids with overvoltage surges or control cabinets with regenerative drive controllers.