March 22, 2004—A proposal for efficiency specifications and a test procedure for single voltage external AC/DC power supplies, commonly known as external “power packs,” was recently unveiled at an electronics conference in Anaheim, California. The work builds on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts through the ENERGY STAR program to capture additional environmental benefits and energy efficiency in both active and standby modes across a wide variety of consumer electronics and office equipment.
External power supplies convert AC power from a wall outlet into lower voltage DC power for use in cordless tools and telephones, cell phones, and many other consumer and office products. With more than a billion external power supplies shipped worldwide each year, this industry offers significant energy savings potential, says EPA. In the US, the total amount of electricity that flows through external and internal power supplies is more than 207 billion kwh/year (worth about $17 billion/year), or about six percent of the national electric bill. More efficient designs could save an estimated 15 to 20 percent of that energy.
EPA’s unified energy-efficiency test procedure, developed in consultation with several international partners, will ensure comparability of efficiency data, lower participation/compliance costs, and other positive benefits to industry participants and policy makers worldwide. Through international coordination, the ENERGY STAR program hopes to expand the market for highly energy-efficient power supplies, and strengthen the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. EPA also intends to create strong market incentives in the US through ENERGY STAR.
The draft specification will be available for review and comment via the ENERGY STAR Web site.
