The maximum efficiency of a half-wave rectifier is

Concept:

The efficiency of a rectifier is defined as the ratio of dc output power to input power.

The efficiency of a half-wave rectifier will be:

\(\eta = \frac{{{P_{dc}}}}{{{P_{ac}}}}\)

\(\eta= \frac{{\frac{{V_{dc}^2}}{{{R_L}}}}}{{\frac{{V_{rms}^2}}{{{R_L}}}}} \)

V_DC = DC or average output voltage

R_L = Load Resistance

For a half-wave rectifier, the output DC voltage or the average voltage is given by:

\(V_{DC}=\frac{V_m}{\pi}\)

Also, the RMS voltage for a half-wave rectifier is given by:

\(V_{rms}=\frac{V_m}{2}\)

Calculation:

The efficiency for a half-wave rectifier will be:

\(\eta= \frac{{{{\left( {\frac{{{V_m}}}{\pi }} \right)}^2}}}{{{{\left( {\frac{{{V_m}}}{{2 }}} \right)}^2}}} = 40.6\;\% \)

For Half wave rectifier maximum efficiency = 40.6%

Note: For Full wave rectifier maximum efficiency = 81.2%