What’s the difference between unregulated and regulated converters?
An unregulated converter is a cheaper solution but offers less stability over the output voltage. The output voltage can change depending on both the load and the Input voltage variations. Therefore, the input voltage range is restricted to +/-5% or +/-10% and the output voltage can rise substantially during no-load conditions. However, even an unregulated converter offers a low +/-5% output voltage variation over the load range of 20% to 100%. Regulated converters offer a much better load and line voltage regulation, typically less than 1%, so the output voltage is not dependant on the load or input voltage. In addition, the input voltage range is higher (2:1, 4:1 or up to 7:1 with non-isolated converters).
