[Technology Report]
Multiple Standards Confound Power-Supply Designers
The melange of energy-efficiency standards used to be good for a “green” label. But how much difference really exists between them?
What's a poor power-supply designer to do? The U.S. alone has four standards for energy efficiency: Energy Star, Executive Order 13221 (1-W Standby), 80 Plus, and the regulations of the California Energy Commission.
Europe grapples with at least seven: the International Energy Star program, Blue Angel, the Group for Energy Efficient Appliances, the European Code of Conduct, EU Eco Label, Energy Plus, and Nordic Star. Then there's the Australia Greenhouse Office (Australia also participates in Energy Star), the China Energy Conservation Project, Korea's Energy Saving Office Equipment & Home Electronics Program, and Japan's Top Runner program. Many similarities weave through these programs, but there are enough differences to make powering a product for a global market an exercise in anxiety.
Fortunately, many of the programs are voluntary. Therefore, you could still play in those markets even if you don't meet their standby power of efficiency specs. But you won't get the compliance sticker, which would mean mean you'd most likely be positioning your brand as a "value leader" while sacrificing your profit margin.
A better approach would be to familiarize yourself with the programs out there, go to the key Web sites to get the latest updates, and then design your product to meet as many energy-friendly label criteria as practical. This should help you get yourself onto the most popular energy-program Web sites—and position your product among the green good guys.
That said, not every program is optional. The killer is California's program. If you can't prove you meet the specs, you can't sell your stuff in the Golden State. Some manufacturers recently got into a cold sweat and managed to get a six-month extension, but don't expect that to happen again.
Then there are the Japanese standards; different, practical, and frustrating—all at the same time. The Japanese pick the most efficient product in a particular market and let it set the specs that everyone else will have to live up to in a few years, at which point the goal posts will be moved again.
Across the Web, there are few resources comparing and contrasting energy-efficiency programs. One exception: Power Integrations maintains summaries and links in the Green Room section of its Web site, available at www.powerint.com/greenroom/index.html. Bookmark it. It's a good resource for further research.
MANDATORY U.S. STANDARDS In July 2001, President Bush signed Executive Order 13221, the "1-Watt Standby" Order. Under the order, federal agencies may only purchase products that meet Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) standby energy-consumption standards.
As of January, standards were in place for desktop and laptop computers and monitors; TVs and media players; printers, scanners, and fax machines; and microwave ovens. Generally, the standards are for no more than 1-W standby power consumption. In a few instances, 2 W (desktops, fax machines, and microwaves) and even 3 W (combination TV/VCR/DVD players) are allowed.
However, if plans are for a desktop PC or other computer product to be connected to a local-area network (LAN) and operated continuously, agencies must select an Energy Star product with the lowest possible sleep power level. For a summary table, check out http://oahu.lbl.gov/level_summary.html. Manufacturers can find FEMP information at http://oahu.lbl.gov/.
The only mandatory power-consumption regulation in the U.S. that affects non-government consumers is the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Efficiency Requirements for External Power Supplies and Consumer Audio and Video Equipment Sold in California. As the California Air Resources Board has already shown, the state, with roughly 10% of the entire U.S. population within its borders, maintains the purchasing clout to affect national standards.
CEC-400 was adopted on December 15, 2004, and the requirements for external power supplies were to go into effect on July 1, 2006. Standards for compact audio and digital television adapters are set for Jan. 1, 2007.
These dates were a big part of the buzz at the Power Electronics Technology conference in Chicago back in November 2004 (see "California Sets Green Power-Supply Standards" at ED Online 9480 at www.electronicdesign.com).
The requirements got a mixed reception. First to complain were the set-top-box (STB) makers, who noted that their active power-consumption limit fell far below the power specifications of current products. The regulation stated that converter boxes had to consume less than 8 W in active mode and 1 W in standby.
STB makers noted that out of the entire existing base of offair-digital broadcast converters (which then comprised two boxes from Motorola, one from Zenith, one from Dexus, and two from Samsung), active power ratings ranged from 25 to 30 W. The companies insisted that if no compliant boxes were available by the end of 2006, when broadcasters were to pull the plug on analog TV, a crisis would ensue.
Then more "excitement" happened last February. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a number of makers of "cordless phones, battery-powered drills, MP3 players, laptop computers, and other electronic devices" were "balking at new California regulations to reduce the amount of power the appliances use when charging or sitting idle while plugged into wall sockets."
In addition to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), other companies and organizations are asking the CEC to extend the deadlines. These include the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Black & Decker, and Radio Shack. It's interesting that not every manufacturer was concerned about the original July 1, 2006 date. The Chronicle reported that Hewlett-Packard and Apple were content with the original deadlines.
As it happens, the Chronicle report was a little overwrought. In a press announcement from that period, the CEA said it welcomed an offer the CEC had placed on the table to consider delaying imposition of the standards.
Several months of tension ensued, but in the end, the CEC backed off. The July revision to CEC-400 pushed the effective date for "external power supplies used with laptop computers, mobile phones, printers, print servers, scanners, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and digital cameras" back to Jan. 1, 2007. Further, the effective date for "external power supplies used with wireline telephones and all other applications" was pushed to July 1, 2007.
Note that companies must start manufacturing external supplies that meet CEC-400 requirements by these dates. They still have five years to sell off existing stock for the repair or replacement of products they've already sold.
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