AC to DC Voltage Calculator

The tool below calculates the DC voltage from AC voltage.

Background

A full-wave rectifier is an electronic circuit that converts AC to DC by rectifying both halves of the AC waveform, resulting in a more efficient conversion compared to a half-wave rectifier.

The DC or averaged value of the output waveform is given by the formula below.

Formula

VDC = (2/Ï€)*(Vmax)

where Vmax is the peak AC voltage value and VDC is the output. The multiplier in the equation is 2/Ï€ or 0.637.

How is this formula derived?

The area under the curve A is equal to h x w

where h is the height and w is the width. VDC is the height and therefore given by VDC = A/w

 A = 0 ∫ π sin(x) dx = −cos(x)|0π = 2

The width is simply π-0 = π

Therefore VDC = 2/Ï€*Vmax (we have to scale it by Vmax as the calculation above is for a peak value of 1).

Example Calculation

For a peak AC value of 1 Volt, the equivalent DC value is 0.637 Volt.

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