(P11-11) Power Beyond the Datasheet: Engineering Real Power Systems When Requirements Don't Fit the Parts

Power conversion projects rarely fail because the wrong component was chosen from a catalogue — they fail because the datasheet answered a different question than the application asked. This session works through power designs where the specified part met every published parameter and still did not deliver the required system. It examines how peak efficiency figures diverge from real operating profiles, why thermal behaviour and magnetics dominate outcomes more often than part selection, and when wide-bandgap devices genuinely earn their cost against silicon. The discussion covers requirement translation, worst-case operating envelope definition, thermal and EMC constraints, packaging and manufacturability, and the validation steps that convert a component specification into a deliverable product.