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If the capacitor chosen is too small, it does not smooth the voltage fully, and a high residual ripple remains. This is why the ripple of the input voltage is slight when it reaches the consumer – the capacitor maintains the voltage.Ī properly-sized capacitor can smooth not only a sinusoidal voltage but also pulse width modulation (PWM). However, due to the rectifier circuit, it cannot send the charge back to the voltage source, but discharges it via the consumer. When it drops below a certain level, it discharges. While the voltage reaches its highest values, the capacitor is charged. The capacitors help to fill in the gaps in the rectified voltage.

Here, a capacitor is as close as possible to the rectifier circuit and the second as close as possible to the consumer. Often, two smaller smoothing capacitors are used instead of one large one. The capacitor for voltage smoothing is placed parallel to the load behind the rectifier circuit. Our online filter capacitor calculator helps with dimensioning the capacity. We want to explain how a smoothing capacitor can be dimensioned and how exactly it works. However, it may not be infinitely large, as the diodes could be damaged. The remaining ripple is called the ripple voltage.įor a voltage with as little residual ripple as possible, the capacitor must be the right size. Although the capacitor does not produce perfect DC voltage, it reduces the fluctuations to a level that most devices can easily handle. Experts speak of a high ripple.Ī smoothing capacitor, also called a filter capacitor or charging capacitor, is used to “smooth” these voltages. However, this circuit has a big disadvantage: It works only from the lower half-wave upwards and leaves a pulsating DC voltage. Most commonly, the rectifier circuit is constructed with a bridge rectifier consisting of four diodes. When connecting these devices, the voltage must be rectified in advance.

However, many devices are operated with a DC voltage. The German power grid supplies a sinusoidal AC voltage with a frequency of 50 Hz. General information about the smoothing capacitor