12V Laptop Power Supply: PC Power Supply Consumption and Converter Choice

How to calculate and choose the power of a 12 Volt cigarette lighter converter for powering a 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, or 24 volt laptop?

The power corresponds to the electricity consumption of the equipment. Therefore, there is a value to respect for this equipment to function properly.

Let's take the example of a computer; How can we know the power it needs to function properly?

It's very simple:
– either it's written directly under the computer (Power in Watts W).
– or characteristics are given so that we can, by calculating, know the power value.

The characteristics that will be used to find this power are:
– Voltage in Volts (V)
– Electric current in Amperes (A)

Then simply multiply these two values to find the power the computer needs to function properly.

As an example, we choose a Panasonic Toughbook computer:
Amperage: 5.0A
Voltage: 15.6V
The power is therefore: 5.0 x 15.6 = 78W

With this value, we now know that we will need a power supply that can deliver at least 78W for the computer to function properly.

We have selected for their quality 2 adjustable voltage cigarette lighter laptop power supplies, a 70W model and a 150W model.

To see our selection of 12V cigarette lighter power supplies, click here

Since the 70W model is lower than the value we found by calculating, you should then opt for the power supply delivering a maximum of 150W (The power given for the products is always the maximum value that can be delivered).