So I have this portable electronic device with a rating of 1.5 Amps over 12V. If I supply it 2 Amps over 12 V, would it be damaged? Should I instead supply it with 1 Amp over 12V?
Thank you.
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You don’t supply things with current (amps). You supply a voltage and the devices internal resistance will determine how much current it tries to draw.
When you see a power supply rated for something like 12V and 2A, that means it can *safely* provide up to 2A to a device. It’s happy to provide less if that’s all the device is asking for.
So in general as long as the power supply unit can supply the right voltage and *at least* the same current or higher as the device, you’re fine.
So in your example, yes you can use a power supply rated for 12V 2A with a device rated for 12V 1.5A That device will only draw 1.5A from your power supply which is less than 2A.
And just to make myself super clear, you ***cannot*** do the opposite. If you try to run a device that is rated for 12V 1.5A on a power supply that is only rated for 12V 1A then you will cause that power supply to overheat and possibly melt and/or start a fire.
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