Life Span
Life span is usually measured in mean time between failures (MTBF). Higher MTBF ratings are preferable for longer device life and reliability. Quality construction consisting of industrial grade electrical components or a larger or higher speed fan can help to contribute to a higher MTBF rating by keeping critical components cool. Overheating is a major cause of PSU failure. Calculated MTBF value of 100,000 hours (about 11 years continuous operation) is not uncommon.
Power supplies for servers, industrial control, or other places where reliability is important may be hot swappable, and may incorporate N+1 redundancy; if N power supplies are required to meet the load requirement, one extra is installed to allow for swaps.
Read more about this topic: Modular Power Supply Unit
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