1.     Introduction

This Code of Conduct has been prepared by the European Commission, following the discussions and decisions of the ad-hoc working group composed by independent experts, Member States representatives and representatives of industry.

Standby losses, including no-load losses, in power supplies contribute substantially to the electricity consumption of households in Europe. The Study on Miscellaneous Standby Power Consumption of Household Equipment (Molinder, 1997) calculated an increase for wall packs and chargers from about 8 TWh in 1996 to about 14 TWh in 2006 (Business as Usual scenario). With actions resulting from this Code of Conduct this increase can be counterbalanced, resulting in savings of a maximum of 5 TWh per year from 2010, this is equivalent to a total saving of 500 Million EURO per year.

Further savings can be expected form the application of efficient power supplies in electronics appliances, such as TVs, VCRs, microwave ovens, etc.

When addressing efficiency of power supplies, also power quality should be taken into account. Although applying electronics in power supplies can increase efficiency and lower no load losses, it should not adversely effect the power quality.

2. Scope

Scope of this Code of Conduct are external power supplies for electronic and electrical appliances, including among others AC adapters, battery chargers for mobile phones, domestic appliances, power tools and IT equipment, in the input power range 0.3W to 75W. In most cases these power supplies are specified by the appliance manufacturer; production can be at the appliance manufacturer or at a dedicated manufacturer.

These external power supplies and chargers (hereinafter defined "external power supplies") have in common that they mostly do not have an on-off switch and consume electricity in a no-load situation.

3. Aim

4. Commitment

Signatories of this Code of Conduct commit themselves to:

4.1   Design power supplies or component so as to minimise energy consumption in the off-mode. Those companies who are not responsible for the production of power supplies shall include the concept of minimisation of no load energy consumption in their purchasing procedures of power supplies.

4.2    Achieve the following no-load power consumption targets within the time schedule for at least 60% for Phase 1, 70 % for Phase 2 and 80 for Phase 3, either for the model range using external power supplies or for the models of external power supplies that are introduced on the market after the indicated date (new model only):

The no-load power consumption shall be measured and declared according to the method in the Annex.

4.3    Co-operate with the European Commission and Member States in monitoring the effectiveness of this external power supplies.

4.4    External power supplies exempted from the agreement:
1)     AC Adapter with more than one output terminal using switching power circuit

Annex

Measurement method

(based upon prEN50301)

Measuring conditions

Measurement procedure

Measure the input power consumption of the power supply 15 minutes after it has been put into the no-load condition.

The measurement should be carried out directly by means of a watt meter.

The maximum permitted error is 5 %.

The measuring time shall be sufficiently long to measure the correct value.

The results shall be given in watts, with a number of relevant digits in accordance with the accuracy of the measurement.

Code of Conduct

on Efficiency of External Power Supplies

SIGNING FORM

The organisation/company/

 ····················

declares its willingness to sign the Code of Conduct on Efficiency of External Power Supplies and to commit itself to abide to the principles described in point 4 "The Commitment" for the following product categories:   ······.·······.

The organisation, through regular upgrade reports, will keep the European Commission informed on the implementation of the Code of Conduct on Efficiency of External Power Supplies.

for the organisation

Director or person authorised to sign:

Name: ···········

Managerial Function: ···········

Address     ···············

Tel. / Fax.  ········/ ·······

Signature    ···············

Please send the signed form to :

Paolo Bertoldi
European Commission
Directorate General Energy and Transport
Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel. +32 2 29 52204
Fax. +32 2 295 5852