The infograph below traces the path from the CEC’s 2004 regulation through to the DoE’s Level VI standards that went into effect in early 2016. It also shows the European Union’s Code of Conduct standards that are voluntary now, but are currently under review to become Ecodesign requirements in two tiers. The Tier 1 standard, which is broadly equivalent to Level VI, is proposed to become mandatory sometime in 2017 and the tighter Tier 2 standard is proposed to become mandatory in 2018.

The above timeline demonstrates just how dynamic the regulatory environment has been over the past several years. As different countries and regions enact stricter requirements and move from voluntary to mandatory programs, it has become vital that OEMs continually track the most recent developments to ensure compliance and avoid costly delays or fines. While many countries are establishing voluntary programs harmonized to the international efficiency marking protocol system first established by Energy Star, the following countries and regions now have regulations in place mandating that all external power supplies shipped across their borders meet the specified efficiency level:

The international efficiency marking protocol defines two performance criteria; no-load power consumption and energy efficiency. The table below summarizes the performance thresholds for each efficiency level as they were established over time:

The Level VI mandate defines exemptions for EPS products. The direct operation EPS standards do not apply if:

The European Union published its Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency of External Power Supplies Version 5 in October 2013. Tier 1 effectively harmonizes the EU with DoE Level VI, noting the differences in scope detailed below, and became effective as a voluntary requirement from January 2014, some two years ahead of Level VI. Its adoption as an EU Ecodesign rule is expected to be mandated sometime in 2017. The more stringent Tier 2 became effective on a voluntary basis from January 2016 and is expected to become mandatory as an Ecodesign rule in 2018.

The key difference between the CoC requirements and Level VI is the new 10% load measure, which imposes efficiency requirements under a low-load condition where historically most types of power supplies have been notoriously inefficient. It is important to note that CoC does not distinguish between direct and indirect operation external power adapters. While CoC Tier 1 includes the new 10% load measure, its no-load and active mode limits are less stringent than DoE Level VI.

CoC Tier 2 further tightens the no-load and active mode power consumption limits for key classes of power adapters enacted by Level VI i.e. at output powers ≤49 W and 49 W < Pout ≤ 250 W and covers both standard voltage and low voltage adapters. The table below details the additional requirements imposed by Tier 2.