A comparator rail may still lose voltage through output resistance before the load. Exact arithmetic here means exact results for the stated model inputs; measured inputs still carry uncertainty and significant-figure limits.

highlighted = computed this step

The output rail still has source resistance

The comparator rail is 12 volts, but the load receives 8 volts.

VL=8 VV_L = 8\ \text{V}
Comparator drives loadThe comparator output is the rail for the next stage.V8 VV6 VV12 VHIGHtie LOWplusminusoutput

The output power budget closes

The load current is 2 amperes. The load power is 16 watts and the source resistor power is 8 watts.

16 W+8 W=24 W16\ \text{W} + 8\ \text{W} = 24\ \text{W}
Comparator drives loadThe useful and lost output powers are checked.12 V2 ohm4 ohmA2 A2 A+-4 V+-8 Voutputload