Methods to increase the withstand voltage of capacitors include

Can a capacitor be used in a DC Circuit?

I need to use a capacitor in a DC circuit where it would store somewhat higher voltage (hundreds of volts). The cheapest way to do that (in my case) is to connect multiple electrolytic capacitors in series, because their maximum voltage is lower than the voltage I want to store. In theory, it should work well with non-polarized capacitors.

Do capacitors add voltage tolerances?

Capacitors connected in series add their voltage tolerances. (This is true if their capacitance values are identical.) Note that the equivalent capacitance value of capacitors in series is smaller than any individual value according to the formula: 1 Ceq = 1 C1 + 1 C2 + 1 C3 ⋯ 1 C e q = 1 C 1 + 1 C 2 + 1 C 3 ⋯

Should I use a high voltage or low voltage capacitor?

Of course, for conventional electrolytic capacitors, it is simply more cost effective to use a capacitor with a higher voltage rating, or a bunch of high voltage lower value capacitors in parallel. At a simpler level, for low duty cycle / low load applications, a passive balancing approach can be adopted.

What happens if a capacitor meets a higher voltage threshold?

However, it is far better to get a single capacitor that meets the higher voltage threshold on its own as combining capacitors in series will also lead to a higher Effective Series Resistance (ESR). In the scenario above, you will double the ESR. High ESR can cause unwanted or catastrophic effects on circuits not designed to handle it.

What are the basic parameters of a capacitor?

This article explains some basic parameters of capacitors – insulation resistance, DCL leakage current and breakdown voltage / withstanding voltage. Important feature of capacitor apart its capacitance is: its ability to keep the charge for some time without self-discharging due to its internal leakage (conductivity) mechanisms.

Which capacitors are most sensitive?

Most sensitive are electric double layer capacitors (supercapacitors), which are also typically rated for fairly low voltages, making the problem more relevant in moderate voltage circuit designs. Thus capacitor active balancing ICs are most often used for supercapacitor banks, such as for car audio buffer capacitors.