SL Power Launches New DoE Level VI & CoC Tier 2 Page

Jul 17, 2018

SL Power Electronics published a new web page dedicated to the various regulations governing External Power Supplies (EPS) in terms of average efficiency minimums and no-load power consumption in different regions of the world. Primarily, the page focuses on the DoE Level VI regulation within the USA and the proposed CoC Version 5 Tier 2 requirement within the EU. Click Here to access the Level VI & CoC Tier 2 page.

Energy Efficiency Requirements of External Power Supplies (EPS):

In the early 1990’s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started a voluntary program to promote energy efficiency and reduce pollution, which eventually became the Energy Star program. However, it was not until 2004 that the first mandatory regulations dictating average efficiency minimums and no-load power consumption for External Power Supplies (EPS) were put into place.

As different countries enacted stricter requirements and moved from voluntary to mandatory programs, the Energy Star program defined the International Efficiency Marking Protocol to minimize confusion between regions and their similar standards. The defined markings set minimum average efficiency and maximum no-load power consumption levels for EPS. The evolution of the various marking levels is detailed below:

Level I: Power supply does not meet any of the standards defined
Level II: Power supply meets minimum efficiencies set by China in November 2005
Level III: Power supply meets Energy Star Tier 1, CEC Tier 1, and Australian MEPS standards
Level IV: Power supply meets EISA 2007, CEC Tier 2 and the Australian MEPS High Efficiency category
Level V: Power supply meets CEC Tier 3 and EU Phase 2 standards
Level VI: Power supply meets DoE standards that went into effect on February 10, 2016 in the US

Below are the countries or regions mandating that External Power Supplies (EPS) (with some exemptions) shipped across their borders meet specific efficiency levels:

Global Regulatory History

The timeline below traces the history of the energy efficiency standards from the first CEC regulation in 2004 up until the current DoE Level VI regulation.