- LED Lighting
- Optoelectronic
- Sensors
- Power Supply
- Electromechanics
- Signal Technology
- Memory & Storage
- Thermal Management
- Circuit Breaker
- Hi-Rel
- Diverse
Despite the replacement of linear technology by switching power supplies, the share of total power consumption is still significant, so environmental authorities around the world introduced guidelines to reduce it, conserve resources and thus protect the environment.
The first legally mandated energy efficiency guideline for external power supplies was introduced in California in 2004. Similar standards followed worldwide and were harmonized as the International Energy Efficiency Marking Protocol for external power supplies. Further development of the directive has resulted in increasingly stringent regulations regarding minimum efficiency and no-load operation requirements.
Today, most of the external power supplies sold in the U.S. must meet the U.S. Department of Energy's (DoE) new "Energy Conservations Standards," also called the Level VI specification, and bear the Roman numerals IV on the nameplate. For the EU, the Level V specification still currently applies.
External power supplies* are affected by the change,
*An external power supply is defined as an external power supply circuit that converts household power to DC power or to low voltage AC power to operate a consumer product.
A consumer product is an item that consumes or is designed to consume energy and which is sold through commercial channels for individual personal use or consumption.
External power supplies
The following table lists the specified idle power consumption and minimum average efficiency for all categories of external power supplies.
Single-Voltage External AC-DC Power Supply, Basic Voltage | ||
---|---|---|
Nameplate Output Power (Pout) | Minimum Average Efficiency in Active Mode (expressed as a decimal) | Max. Power in No Load Mode (W) |
Pout ≤ 1W | ≥ 0.5 x Pout + 0.16 | ≤ 0.100 |
1W < Pout ≤ 49W | ≥ 0.071 x ln(Pout)-0.0014 x Pout + 0.67 | ≤ 0.100 |
49W < Pout ≤ 250W | ≥ 0.880 | ≤ 0.210 |
Pout > 250W | ≥ 0.875 | ≤ 0.500 |
Single-Voltage External AC-DC Power Supply, Low Voltage | ||
Pout ≤ 1W | ≥ 0.517 x Pout + 0.087 | ≤ 0.100 |
1W < Pout ≤ 49W | ≥ 0.0834 x ln(Pout)-0.0014 x Pout + 0.609 | ≤ 0.100 |
49W < Pout ≤ 250W | ≥ 0.870 | ≤ 0.210 |
Pout > 250W | ≥ 0.875 | ≤ 0.500 |
Single-Voltage External AC-AC Power Supply, Basic Voltage | ||
Pout ≤ 1W | ≥ 0.5 x Pout + 0.16 | ≤ 0.210 |
1W < Pout ≤ 49W | ≥ 0.071 x ln(Pout)-0.0014 x Pout + 0.67 | ≤ 0.210 |
49W < Pout ≤ 250W | ≥ 0.880 | ≤ 0.210 |
Pout > 250W | ≥ 0.875 | ≤ 0.210 |
Single-Voltage External AC-AC Power Supply, Low Voltage | ||
Pout ≤ 1W | ≥ 0.517 x Pout + 0.087 | ≤ 0.210 |
1W < Pout ≤ 49W | ≥ 0.0834 x ln(Pout)-0.0014 x Pout + 0.609 | ≤ 0.210 |
49W < Pout ≤ 250W | ≥ 0.870 | ≤ 0.210 |
Pout > 250W | ≥ 0.875 | ≤ 0.500 |
Multiple-Voltage External Power Supply | ||
Pout ≤ 1W | ≥ 0.497 x Pout + 0.067 | ≤ 0.300 |
1W < Pout ≤ 49W | ≥ 0.075 x ln(Pout) + 0.561 | ≤ 0.300 |
Pout > 49W | ≥ 0.860 | ≤ 0.300 |
Table I. Energy Conservation Standards for Direct Operation EPSs (Copied from US DoE, 10 CFR Part 430 document) |
It is expected that the EU and other countries will also tighten their own regulations in line with Level VI. In December 2015, a panel of political and business experts already initiated the implementation of a similar directive for the European Union. Adoption by the European Commission is expected from the end of 2016.