Electronics can often be confusing to navigate around. Especially if you don’t have a full understanding of the technical details of the product. There are many different cords and accessories that come with an electrical device. These make it difficult to figure out them correctly. It is easy to get the chargers and adapters confused too. They often appear to do the same thing, but they actually perform different actions. Although these actions do complement each other.
1. What is a charger and adapter
A charger is an electronic device that charges a device with a battery or a supercapacitor. The charger provides energy to the battery by plugging into a wall socket.
An adapter is an electronic device that provides power to a device. These include things such as laptops or music players or USB fans. It is a power conversion device. This means that it can take a certain kind of power and convert it into the power which the device needs.
2. What’s the difference between them
Application. A charger is used for devices that have their own battery and energy store. Whereas an adapter is used to supply power to the electronic device when it is plugged in.
Convert Types. Chargers always convert the AC power to DC power. While Power Adapters could convert AC power to AC power or AC power to DC power.
Inner Design. In chargers, there is an AC to DC converter board and DC to DC converter board. In power adapters, there is only 1 converter board which is AC to AC or AC to DC.
Working mode. When using a charger, it will usually stop working when the device is fully charged. However, the power adapters provide power to the device at all times
3. Can I use a charger instead of an adapter?
Adapters can sometimes be used as a charge. An example of this is in the case of laptops. The adapter charges the battery in the laptop with the battery management circuit.
You can use a charger as a power adapter. This is possible if the device requires the same output voltage and current as the charger provides. For example, it is ok to use a 5V2A cellphone charger as an adapter for a 5V2A device. Having said that, this is not recommended, as there is no battery protection design in a power adapter. This could result in damage to the battery.
To ensure that you keep your electronic devices safe, it is always advised to use the right item. Doing so can not only ensure the operation of the device properly but also extend the lifespan of the device.
4. How do I know if I need a charger or an adapter?
4.1 The first thing you need to do is find out whether you are looking to convert the power or charge the device. For converting the AC power to DC power (or AC), a power adapter is the best choice to use. If you are going to charge a device, then it is best to use a charger.
4.2 Confirm whether there is a battery in the device you are using. If there is a battery, then you will need a charger. Mobile phones, handheld gaming systems, etc., all include batteries. While the laptops are excluded from this tip.
4.3 Think about whether you need to supply the power to the device all the time. If yes, then you will need a power adapter. If you only need to supply it with energy for a short amount of time, as it holds the battery itself, then a charger is needed.
5. Cellphone charger and laptop adapter
A cellphone charger is a charger as there is a battery inside of it. This will make confusion about a laptop, why it is called a laptop adapter even though there is a battery inside?
A mobile phone will not work if you remove the battery from it and connect the charger. This is because the mobile charger is only designed to charge the battery. Not to provide the power supply to the mobile for its operation. Mobile phones always take the power supply from the battery, even if the charger is on or not.
The laptop will still turn on if you remove the battery from it and connect the adapter. This is because the adapter is designed to provide the power supply to the laptop for its operation. When you connect the adapter, it will not directly connect to the battery. There is an extra circuit installed in the laptop, this guarantees the battery could be charged from the laptop adapter.
6. Conclusion
It is very easy to mix up the functionality of adapters and chargers, yet there is a difference in what they do. Both of them are to supply energy to the devices in different ways. The chargers provide power to the battery which then stores this energy. The adapters convert the power to the devices, so must be plugged in at all times. Knowing what they are used for is very helpful so that you can choose the right one for your gadget.