GLOBAL DESIGNER: Energy-efficiency standards play a role in external-powersupply design

Energy-conservation oganizations issue energy-efficiency standards that can make a difference in external-powersupply design, according to industry executives and energyconservationorganizations.

Such organizations include the United States Environmental Protection Agency¡¯s Energy Star (www.energystar.gov), the California Energy Commission (www.energy. ca.gov), the European Union (www.europa.eu.int), the Australian Greenhouse Office (www.greenhouse.gov.au), and the China CECP (Certification Center for Energy Conservation Products, www.cecp.org.cn). The organizations are deploying these standards in conjunction with mandatory and voluntaryspecifications focusing on the efficiency of external power supplies.

¡°This proliferation of energy-efficiency standards is happening on a global level, and there is a move afoot to harmonize global standards for energy conservation for different types of products and adapters,¡± says Doug Bailey, vice president of marketing at Power Integrations, a vendor of high-voltage analog ICs for power conversion.

Although the details of the standards and specifications vary, the underlying objective, according to Energy Star, is to spur the adoption and usage of energy-efficient external power supplies and buoy the concept of deploying a single energyefficiency- testing procedure and specification for several countries. This model enables designers to compare external power supplies¡¯ energyefficiency outputs and lowers design and production expenses.

This approach is similar to specifications that the CECP issued this year, calling for energy consumption for powersupply components, including cellphone chargers and adapters, digital cameras, and portable music players. They include minimum operatingefficiency requirements at different output-power levels and a maximum level of noload power consumption.

According to Andrew Fanara, Energy Star team leader for products, a single global measure to gauge test procedures and energy efficiency of adapters and other components at various power loads and no-load efficiencies allows manufacturers to consistently and fairly compare products and tout efficiencies. ¡°Our specifications are on the same level as those in other countries,¡± says Fanara.

¡°We would like to make power consumption as low as possible, because there are roughly a billion power suppliers and adapters sold worldwide per year.¡±

Although Energy Star has been testing power supplies and adapters, Fanara notes that manufacturers are implementing designs with small, energy-efficient footprints for end users who want to use smaller, less bulky devices with smaller, more efficient power strips.

¡°Designers are focusing more and more on this issue, because more efficient and smaller products bring about more benefits, such as reducing energy bills, for end users,¡± says Fanara. ¡°Designers know that this type of energy efficiency is quickly becoming mandatory.¡±

— Jeff Berman
Power Integrations
www.powerint.com