While powering fan units may seem very straightforward, there is much to know for powering multiple units together.  This section applies to Cool Components low voltage fans (our inline duct fans are high voltage). 

Single Fan Unit Powering

The only consideration when powering a single unit is to 'match' the power supply to the unit.  If the unit you order from us comes with a power supply, then you have a suitable power supply.

Powering Multiple Fan Units with a Single Power Supply

This is a major advantage of low voltage fans. Not only can you power multiple units with one power supply, but low voltage fans are easier to control, are more efficient, and easier to power in general.

Connections

Cool Components products typically use the 2-pin plug system which is universal with most variable voltage power supplies.  It is important to align the connector ends, Tip to +.  This is the proper polarity for the unit and when using a plug, the tip is +.  Also, if ever need to splice the wires, the wire with white stripe is the positive lead.

Connections/Cables for Powering Multiple Fan Units

The options for connecting multiple fan units to one power supply are to use Cool Components:

• Y-Cables (short or long leads)
• Tri-cables
• To simply splice wired following the polarity mentioned above (the wire with the white stripe is positive)

Amperage 

The amperage is the main thing to pay attention to when powering units.  Amperage is the amount of current that a unit requires and uses to run.  Typically, low voltage fans are measured in milliamps which 1 amp = 1000 milliamps (mA). 

A general rule of thumb:

• The smaller fans use around 50mA
• The larger fans around 90, 
• Larger 120mm fans use approximately 120mA
  

So, if for example are using a Universal Cooler, that has 6 'small' fans, you can approximate the amperage as 300mA: (50mA) * (6 small fans) = 240mA. In this example, a 300ma power supply would be about perfect, as you want the fan amperage to be below the amperage rating on the power supply.  In other words, if the unit was to draw 300mA, you would want to step up to a 600mA power supply.  

Regulated vs Unregulated Power Supplies

This is not a major issue or concern as the only unregulated power supply that Cool Components offers is the PS300.  The only case where using a regulated power supply matters is when using the ALTv2 controller.  What occurs is with an unregulated power supply, the no-load output voltage is around 18V and the controller simply is not designed to handle that 'raw' voltage.  The solution is to use a different regulated power supply or use the PS300 on 9V which then with no load produces around 12V.