DC DC Regulator Loading

[Rahul Soni]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what will be the effect if I design my buck regulator to provide 20Amps current but use only 3-5 Amps of current?
I am designing a board with 24 SSDs that require about 20Amps of current at 5V. Now suppose I intend to use only 3,4 drives and it takes only 2-3 Amps current. In that case what will be the effect on DC DC regulator. How will it behave.

Thanks in advance.

 

[D.A.(Tony)Stewart]

If this is your 1st SMPS design, you might consider an inexpensive PC PSU.
Historically older designs required 10% minimum load for stability. There are at least a dozen requirements to consider before you start a design.

 

[BradtheRad]

I am designing a board with 24 SSDs that require about 20Amps of current at 5V. Now suppose I intend to use only 3,4 drives and it takes only 2-3 Amps current.

To answer this question... If you have a circuit to regulate output voltage, it will automatically reduce duty cycle so that the inductor draws a smaller Ampere level.

If there is no regulating circuitry, the output voltage will rise.