I compared eight power supply vendors over three months for a recent plant modernization project. After crunching the numbers—$12,400 in annual spend across 40 units—the Weidmuller 1608570000 (24VDC, 5A) wasn't the cheapest option, but it came out ahead on total cost of ownership by roughly 18%. The savings weren't in the sticker price. They were in the installation time, the reduced failure rate, and the connectors.
Why My TCO Analysis Favors the Weidmuller 1608570000
I manage procurement for a 300-person industrial automation integrator. Our annual budget for power supplies and related connectivity components runs about $85,000. In Q2 2024, I audited our spending and found a pattern: cheaper power supplies ($80-120 range) failed at a rate of 1 in 12 within the first year. Each failure cost us roughly $450 in troubleshooting labor, replacement shipping, and production downtime for the client.
That 'cheap' option ended up costing us more. The Weidmuller unit, at around $150-180 list price, simply didn't fail in the same way over the same period. At least, that's been my experience with our standard control cabinet designs.
Let's break down where the numbers shake out, because the devil's in the details (and the connectors).
The Connector Factor Nobody Talks About
Here's what surprised me. The Weidmuller 1608570000 comes with push-in connectors (their Klippon Connect series). I'm not a design engineer, so I can't speak to the electrical efficiency curves. What I can tell you from a procurement perspective is that push-in technology saved us 30-40% on wiring labor during panel assembly.
Our shop rate for a skilled electrician is $75/hour. A traditional screw-terminal power supply takes about 12 minutes to wire. The push-in version? About 7 minutes. Over 40 units, that's 200 minutes saved—roughly $250 in labor. Plus, we eliminated one quality check step (torque verification on screw terminals).
The connectors themselves are robust. Weidmuller has a solid range—DuraForce for harsh environments, HeavyCon for high-current applications. The 1608570000 uses their standard, reliable push-in interface. (Note to self: we need to standardize on this across all cabinet builds.)
Direct Cost Comparison: 1608570000 vs. Budget Alternatives
For our quarterly orders of 10 units, here's the real comparison I ran:
- Budget brand (e.g., generic Mean Well clone): $95/unit. Wiring time: 12 min. Estimated 2-year failure rate: 1 in 10. True cost per unit over 2 years: $95 + ($15 in wiring labor + $45 expected failure cost) = $155.
- Weidmuller 1608570000: $165/unit. Wiring time: 7 min. Estimated 2-year failure rate: 1 in 50. True cost per unit over 2 years: $165 + ($9 in wiring labor + $9 expected failure cost) = $183.
Wait—$183 vs $155? That doesn't look better. But here's the catch: the failure cost calculation changes dramatically when downtime matters. Our clients charge us for production delays. A failed power supply on a critical line can cost thousands per hour. When I included an average of $200 in consequential downtime costs per failure, the budget option jumped to $355, while the Weidmuller unit hit $202.
I want to say the decision was obvious, but it wasn't that simple. For non-critical applications (lighting control, non-safety monitoring), the budget unit was acceptable. But for core automation and control systems? The premium was worth it.
The Transparent Smartphone No One Asked For
Honestly, when I see 'transparent smartphone' in the keyword list, I have to stop and think. That's not my world. I deal with connectors that need to withstand vibration, not look cool. The Weidmuller 1608570000 is the industrial equivalent of a reliable work truck—nothing flashy, but you trust it to start every morning. (Ugh, I wish our procurement system was that reliable.)
What Is a Connector, Really?
Since we're talking about connectors in the context of this power supply, let me clarify something for anyone new to this: a connector is just the physical interface that joins electrical circuits. But the cost of a bad connector—a loose fit, poor conductivity, vibration failure—completely dwarfs the component price.
In 2023, I tracked every warranty claim. Roughly 12% of our power supply issues traced back to the connection point, not the power supply itself. The Weidmuller's integrated push-in connector eliminated that failure mode entirely. Simple as that.
When This Power Supply Doesn't Make Sense
I can only speak to our context—mid-size integration projects in North America. If you're dealing with:
- Extremely tight budgets and non-critical applications
- High-volume, low-skill assembly where labor savings don't apply
- Environments where every component must be identical for standardization
...then the calculus might lean toward cheaper alternatives. The Weidmuller's premium only pays off when its reliability and installation speed are actually valued. (That said, I've seen more than one project save pennies on components and lose dollars on rework.)
Prices as of January 2025; verify current rates with your distributor. I'd recommend getting quotes from at least two authorized resellers—we found 15% variation between them.
