Does your external power supply meet the requirements of Eco Design directive, 2009/125/EC?

Check it online!

Ideal Power offer visitors to their website an easy-to-use ErP II average efficiency calculator tool for external power supplies ensuring the correct selection of ErP II Stage 2 compliant products.

An example of the calculator in use.

Available at the calculator provides confirmation of the target efficiency rating at a glance to engineers, designers and purchasing professionals allowing them to ensure that their application or product conforms to the ErP II requirements. By simply inputting an output voltage and wattage the calculator will use the official formula set by the 278/2009 ErP II compliance in the 2005/32/EC Directive, to provide the average efficiency rate required.

"The second stage of legislation intended to reduce power consumption for electronic equipment has now come into force and there have been numerous changes to the EU’s directives and regulations concerning the efficiency of electronic devices in recent years, particularly concerning standby power.” Comments Craig Eaton, Marketing and Design Manager of Ideal Power. “The Eco Design directive, 2009/125/EC, is the all-embracing directive intended to improve the energy efficiency of all energy related products (ErP). It’s a revision of the directive formerly known as the energy using products (EuP) directive, 2005/32/EC. The goal of this directive is to reduce the energy consumed by ErP by 20%, by 2020. High efficiency external power supplies can help achieve this.”

As part of the ErP directive, EC 278/2009 is the regulation that specifically concerns an external power supply connected to electrical or electronic equipment in a household or office. This regulation restricts an external power supply’s maximum no-load power consumption and average active efficiency of the power supply.

Part of the reason for introducing the requirements in stages is to allow manufacturers time to redesign their products to meet the new constraints. Ideal Power has done exactly that for its range of external power supplies, including the 25HK-AB, 25HK-AJ and 25HK-U series, now available on short lead-times from the company.

Going forward external power supplies must comply with the more stringent Stage II of the ErP directive, under regulation EC 278/2009, in order to qualify for a CE mark. When buying external power supplies, they should come with a statement of compliance for CE marking.

Ideal Power’s Support Engineering Team are available to advise customers about EC 1275/2008 (which relates to the power consumed by electrical or electronic household or office equipment) or EC 617/2013 (which specifically relates to computers and computer servers and welcome all requests to discuss power conversion and supply requirements.