What are the new energy conservation standards for external power supplies?

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recently proposed new energy conservation standards for External Power Supplies (EPSs). These proposed standards, known as Trial Standard Level 4 (TSL4), aim to tighten energy efficiency requirements across all types of EPSs. TSLs are a tool used by the DOE to set energy conservation benchmarks.

What are the new standards for power supply design?

In 2014, the US Department of Energy formalized their newest mandatory standard and the EU’s voluntary Code of Conduct version 5 took effect. This white paper briefly explains the US and EU’s new standards and what they mean to power supply designers.

Do external power supplies have a power efficiency mandate?

At a global level, mandates for power efficiency exist for most consumer electronics and home appliances. External power supplies have had regulations dating back to 2004, when the California Energy Commission created one of the first mandates for efficiency of external power supplies used to power appliances or consumer electronic devices.

Which countries adopt voluntary and mandatory external power supply standards?

Since then, the US, European Union, China and other countries adopted both voluntary and mandatory external power supply standards as part of energy conservation legislation. Table 1 shows a breakdown of some of the current voluntary and mandatory standards by region.

What is an external power supply?

Sign up for email updates on regulations for this and other products As defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), "external power supply" means an external power supply circuit that is used to convert household electric current into DC current or lower-voltage AC current to operate a consumer product.

What percentage of power does a power supply take?

All specifications, both EU and US standards, are based on taking an average of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the nominal output power.