Sometimes, when looking for the rated dissipation of film chip resistors, you may end up feeling confused. This rated dissipation may be different between the datasheet and product sheet mentioned, such as CRCW120610R0FKEAHP from Vishay. Which one is valid?
CRCW120610R0FKEAHP’s datasheet shows 0.75W.
CRCW120610R0FKEAHP’s product sheet shows 0.5W.
This may be due to the parts being tested under different temperature conditions. Referring to the below derating table, the resistor rated dissipation is a parameter that varies with the ambient temperature. The CRCW1206-HP series is listed as example. Before 70°C, its rated dissipation remains 0.75W, but after 70°C, its rated dissipation will change with the increase of ambient temperature. When you reach 100 °C, the rated dissipation is just 0.5W.
For more information on why seeming discrepancies like this can exist, check out Tips for Reading Datasheets, from one of Digi-Key’s engineers.