Delkin Blog

Embedded systems used in power applications cannot risk being unreliable. Whether the power supply is for a specific building or device, or provides power to an entire community, failure can have significant implications. For this reason, when it comes to power applications and embedded systems, choosing a solution that is appropriately reliable matters. Most power suppliers depend on industrial grade embedded systems to deliver the reliability in rugged operating conditions that they need. This is the information that everyone in the power industry needs to know about using embedded systems in their applications.

Power applications face unique challenges.

In the power industry, rugged operating environments are the norm, and not the exception. In power applications, embedded systems often face high temperatures, shock, and vibration that are too intense for commercial grade products. For this reason, power applications almost always opt for industrial grade embedded systems that are designed with SLC flash memory. Industrial grade embedded systems can support the temperature ranges that occur in power applications as well as the shock and vibration levels that are typical in these demanding conditions. With an industrial grade system, there is a much lower risk of data corruption occurring than with lower grade devices.

SLC NAND flash ensures that long-term data logging is not compromised.

Long-term data logging is typical in power applications, and in many systems, this data is critical to ensuring that the performance of the application is acceptable. As such, SLC NAND flash technology is critical. SLC stands for single-level cell, which refers to how the bits of data are stored. With SLC flash, only one bit of data is stored on each cell. This dramatically reduces the risk that a power failure will cause data loss or corruption. With SLC NAND flash, you also get the fastest read and write speeds and the longest possible lifespan. Both of these factors are important to ensuring a seamless power supply.

A controlled BOM can help to prevent unexpected power failures.

Industrial grade embedded systems come with an additional feature that helps with reliable operations: a controlled BOM. With a controlled BOM, no key components of the system, from the controller to the firmware, will be changed without advanced notice and without a new product number being issued. With commercial systems, parts are changed frequently without warning, which could cause a critical failure in your power application.

Delkin is experienced in helping the power industry find embedded storage devices that can meet their demanding operating conditions. For more information about power applications embedded systems, talk to a Delkin product team member today.