Distributors need to make the use of the best available power supply technology as easy for the design engineer as reusing the supply from the last time. In doing that, they not only address a significant design challenge for customers, but potentially strike a blow in the battle to reduce carbon emissions.
Power consumption by electric motors and power supplies is a big issue. In 2005, electrical energy was responsible for 33% (15,400TWh) of global
energy consumption. Europe consumed 3,300TWh of electrical energy in 2005, of which 55% was motor control, 24% was power supplies and 21% was lighting. Of this 3,300TWh, 370TWh was from renewable energy (hydro, wind and biomass).
By 2020, Europe is forecast to need 4,000TWh of electrical energy. The hydro power contribution has been maximised already (320TWh), so any increase in renewable energy will have to come from wind and solar. Estimates say we will get an additional
320TWh from wind and solar by 2020 – 8% of the requirement.
Increasing the efficiency of electrical circuits in motor control, power supply units and lighting could yield an energy saving of 1,150TWh by 2020 – equivalent to 30% of the requirement.
The bottom line is that by increasing the efficiency of power electronics, we can achieve an energy saving almost four times greater than the total additional energy gained by investing in renewable energy.
In this context, it is no surprise that the European Union and governments are calling time on inefficient power supply designs. They are revising and updating regulations such as the European Energy-using Products (EuP) Directive to give regulatory teeth to the issue of efficient power design. In the meantime, a raft of voluntary standards and labelling initiatives is raising the profile of the issue, and making businesses and consumers aware of how much inefficient power supplies are adding to their electricity bill.
The Energy Star initiative is being updated, raising the bar to afford the opportunity for the best to set themselves apart. Companies like Vodafone are setting targets for reducing energy consumption.
Some of these initiatives are set to change the face of the power supply. It remains to be seen whether any linear supply is capable of meeting in full the newest requirements. Many standard PWM designs will similarly fall short.
Although the above arguments are well recognised, addressing them is by no means straightforward. Designing a power supply is not especially difficult, but as with any electronic system, it takes time and effort to research the market and achieve a solution that fulfils the design specification, is affordable, reliable, manufacturable and testable.
Given the pace of technological evolution, there is the opportunity to develop a significantly better system every six to 12 months. There simply is not the design time available to support this effort.
Step forward the distribution field application engineer. It has always been a key part of a technical distributor’s function to keep up to date with technology trends and offer specialist help and advice in addressing design challenges. The best are rising to this challenge as never before.
Designers and manufacturers face a stark choice. Adopt state-of-the-art power systems and best practice today, and get ahead with a useful differentiator in terms of system energy efficiency, running costs and enhanced corporate social responsibility (CSR) credentials. Or be forced into it when the regulatory trap closes and everyone else is doing the same thing, at the same cost, but without the aforementioned benefits.
Glenn Jarrett is marketing director at Abacus Group