ABB / CP power supplies

The three CP ranges differ in ways the model number does not show: how many you can parallel, how far the output adjusts, and whether there is a power reserve.

CP is the ABB DIN rail power supply range. CP-E, CP-S and CP-C sit in most panels that are not running a Phoenix or Omron supply, and they fail the way all switch mode supplies eventually do.

Reading the model number

Take CP-E 24/5.0, order code 1SVR427034R0000.

Straightforward, and unlike the Phoenix Contact ranges the whole family uses amps rather than mixing amps and watts.

The .1 in CP-S.1 and CP-C.1 is a generation marker. A CP-S and a CP-S.1 are different parts.

The three ranges are not interchangeable

The power reserve is the real difference

The CP-C.1 has a power reserve and a dedicated transistor output that indicates when the reserve is being used.

That matters on a panel with contactor coils and motor starters, where inrush at switch-on far exceeds the steady state. A CP-C.1 rides through it and tells the PLC it happened.

Substituting a CP-E of the same current rating removes both the reserve and the signal. The panel may run fine and then trip the supply on a cold morning when everything energises at once.

If your existing supply is a CP-C, find out whether the reserve output is wired to anything before quoting a cheaper range.

The parallel limit

CP-C.1 allows five units in parallel where CP-E and CP-S.1 allow three.

ABB specifies up to 3 devices of the same type on the CP-E and CP-S.1. Note of the same type — you cannot make up a bank from mixed models.

If a load has grown past what one supply delivers, parallelling is the intended answer, and the range decides how far that goes.

The adjustment range

A small difference with a practical consequence. CP-S.1 adjusts from 24 V, where CP-E and CP-C.1 go down to 22.5 V.

Both ranges go up to 28 V or above, which is the direction that usually matters: lifting the supply voltage to compensate for volt drop on a long DC run so the load still sees 24 V.

ABB names that as the intended use of the adjustment.

CP-E specifications

The auto-select input is worth knowing. A CP-E accepts 115 V or 230 V without a link or a switch, so the same part suits imported machinery and local supply.

The signal relay is only rated 0.3 A at 60 V DC. That is a signalling contact, not a switching contact. Do not run anything substantial through it.

Confirmed CP-E order codes

The CP-E range extends below and above these, including 24 V at 0.75, 1.25, 2.5 and 20 A, plus 12 V and 48 V output versions. Send us the rating you need and we will confirm the order code.

Two supplies make plus and minus 24 V, or 48 V

A useful capability that is easy to miss. ABB publishes a connection arrangement for two power supplies set up to give plus and minus 24 V DC, or 48 V DC.

So if an application needs a split rail or 48 V, you may not need a different power supply family. Two standard 24 V units connected as ABB specifies will do it.

Follow the ABB connection diagram rather than improvising. ABB warns against modifying the installation on either the primary or secondary side, citing high current, arc and shock risk.

The OUTPUT OK signal

All three ranges carry a relay output signalling that the output is healthy, intended for connection to a PLC.

ABB notes the messaging and signalling functionality still works with supplies connected in parallel, and that parallel operation has no influence on the function.

So a redundant pair can still each report their own status. That is the point of wiring the signal in the first place.

If you are replacing a supply, check whether that contact is wired. A replacement without it, or with the contact left unwired, leaves a PLC input permanently showing a fault or permanently showing healthy. Same warning as the Phoenix Contact DC OK contact on our Phoenix power supply page.

The CP families

Redundancy units are separate parts

ABB lists a redundancy unit as an accessory to the CP-E range.

Parallelling two supplies for capacity is not the same as running them redundantly. True redundancy needs a decoupling module so a failed supply cannot drag the rail down. If your panel has one, it is its own order line.

Same principle as the QUINT-ORING module on our Phoenix page.

What to check when replacing a CP supply

The range, not just the rating. CP-E, CP-S and CP-C at the same amps are different devices.

Whether the signal contacts are wired. The OUTPUT OK relay, and on a CP-C the power reserve transistor output.

Whether it is one of a parallel bank. Mixing types in a parallel group is not permitted.

Whether a redundancy unit is fitted.

The output voltage setting. If the existing unit was wound up to compensate for volt drop, the replacement arrives at default.

That last one causes real faults. A new supply set to 24.0 V on a run that was working at 27 V will drop devices at the far end.

Sizing a replacement

Two points worth making, and they are the same on any brand.

Inrush beats steady state. A panel full of contactor coils, relay modules and PLC supplies draws far more at switch-on. That is what the CP-C power reserve exists for.

Leave headroom. Panels get added to. A supply sized exactly to today's load is why someone is replacing it in three years.

What we can supply

Current production. CP-E, CP-S.1, CP-C.1, CP-D and CP-T across the range, plus redundancy units, buffer modules and accessories. Quoted with a delivered lead time.

Superseded. Earlier CP-S and CP-C generations, where the current version does not match the panel or the signalling. Surplus and tested used.

Related

ABB overview. CM measuring and monitoring relays, which share the same 1SVR order number block.

AC500 controllers for what these usually feed.

For power supplies from other brands see Phoenix Contact QUINT and TRIO and Omron S8.

Send us your order codes

The 1SVR number is definitive. Tell us whether the signal contacts are wired and whether the unit is part of a parallel or redundant bank. Quotes in NZD including GST.

Request a quote

Industech is an independent supplier of new, surplus and used industrial automation equipment. We are not an authorised distributor of, approved by, sanctioned by, or affiliated with ABB Ltd. ABB is a trademark of ABB Ltd. All trademarks, brand names and order codes are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification purposes only.