Top Five Cellphone Makers Launch Rating System to Slash Wasted Energy; Savings Could Equal Yearly Output of Two Power Stations

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) December 1, 2008 -- Power Integrations (Nasdaq:POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, today announced that its LinkSwitch-II family of power conversion ICs enables manufacturers of cellphone chargers to achieve the recently announced five-star rating for no-load energy consumption.

People may not realize that if they leave their cellphone charger plugged in – which most people do – it may consume up to 0.5 watts even when disconnected from the phone. The new star rating system makes it easy for consumers to compare and choose the most energy-efficient chargers.

LinkSwitch-II enables designers to slash overall component count and eliminate lossy components such as the sense resistor. Chargers using LinkSwitch-II with PI's proprietary EcoSmart technology can easily meet the most aggressive five-star rating at no additional cost to the manufacturer.

The new rating system, launched by the world's top five cellphone makers last month (see Nokia press release), covers all chargers currently sold by Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG Electronics. Efficiency ratings range from five stars for the most efficient chargers down to zero stars for units consuming the most energy.

If left plugged into an electrical outlet, cellphone chargers continue to use electricity even when disconnected from the phone. To achieve the coveted five-star rating, chargers may not exceed 0.03 W (30 mW) power consumption in no-load mode. This no-load power consumption is believed to account for up to two-thirds of the electricity used by mobile phones. Cellphone manufacturers estimate that if the three billion mobile devices in service today were using four- or five-star chargers, the world would save an amount of energy equal to the yearly output of two mid-sized power stations.

Power Integrations’ LinkSwitch-II power conversion ICs enable manufacturers to achieve the five-star rating—and meet other efficiency specifications such as ENERGY STAR^® 2.0—without increasing the cost of their chargers. LinkSwitch-II utilizes Power Integrations’ EcoSmart^® technology to automatically adjust power consumption when the charger enters a no-load condition. Further, LinkSwitch-II eliminates the need for optocouplers and secondary-side CV/CC control circuitry, as well as all control-loop compensation circuitry. This not only reduces component count by as much as 30 percent, but also improves energy efficiency since secondary-side components consume power.

Comments Doug Bailey, vice president of marketing at Power Integrations: “People may not realize that if they leave their cellphone charger plugged in – which most people do – it may consume up to 0.5 watts even when disconnected from the phone. The new star rating system makes it easy for consumers to compare and choose the most energy-efficient chargers.”

Bailey continues: “LinkSwitch-II enables designers to slash overall component count and eliminate lossy components such as the sense resistor. Chargers using LinkSwitch-II with PI’s proprietary EcoSmart technology can easily meet the most aggressive five-star rating at no additional cost to the manufacturer.”

For more information, please visit Power Integrations’ Mobile Device Charger Ratings webpage at http://www.powerint.com/mobile-ratings.

About Power Integrations

Power Integrations is the leading supplier of high-voltage analog integrated circuits used in energy-efficient power conversion. The company’s innovative technology enables compact, energy-efficient power supplies in a wide range of electronic products, in AC-DC, DC-DC and LED lighting applications. Since its introduction in 1998, Power Integrations’ EcoSmart^® energy-efficiency technology has saved an estimated $3.1 billion of standby energy waste and prevented millions of tons of CO₂ emissions. The company’s Green Room web site provides a wealth of information about “energy vampires” and the issue of standby energy waste, along with a comprehensive guide to energy-efficiency standards around the world. Reflecting the environmental benefits of EcoSmart technology, Power Integrations is included in clean-technology stock indices sponsored by the Cleantech Group (Amex: CTIUS) and Clean Edge (Nasdaq: CELS). For more information, please visit www.powerint.com.

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