Efficiency Regulations Outside the US and EU for External Power Supply

It is widely recognized that the losses caused by inefficiencies in external Power Supplies (EPS), such as ac dc adapter and Battery Charger, are a major contributor to energy use globally, with a corresponding negative environmental impact. The California Energy Commission responded back in 2004, with mandatory standards for efficiency and no-load power draw, followed by the European Union. Over the years, the US and EU standards went in and out of step with updates, but today there is substantial agreement between the current US Department of Energy (DOE) Level VI (Table 1) and the recently published mandatory EU Ecodesign Directive 2019/1782 for energy-related products (ErP). Outside of the US and EU, countries with significant EPS markets have adopted voluntary and sometimes mandatory programs, generally harmonized with the US and EU standards. Other countries such as China and Japan have published their own requirements.