Surprisingly Simple Control Method Slashes Vampire Power

Focus:

A power supply control method known as Demand Pulse Regulation (DPR) enables ac-dc converters known as adapters or battery chargers to achieve higher efficiency, lower standby power, smaller size and lower cost than other control methods. This article explains DPR’s principles of operation, its efficiency benefits, experimental results, details of implementation and opportunities for further efficiency gains. The article begins by explaining how, using a tiny pulse transformer, DPR changes the feedback mechanism versus that of a conventional flyback converter. Results are given for a <1- W power converter with over 96% efficiency at just 1% of full load and standby power under 400 µW.

What you’ll learn:

• How to reduce “vampire power” in ac adapters using the Demand Pulse Regulation control method
• How to achieve very low standby power in adapters/battery chargers

View the Source

Author & Publication:

Tom Lawson, CogniPower, Malvern, Pa., How2Power Today, Jul 15 2019

This article summary appears
in the HOW2POWER Design Guide.

The Design Guide offers
organized access to
hundreds of articles
on dozens of power conversion
and power management topics.

The Design Guide search results
include exclusive summaries
and accurate "how to" analysis
to help you make faster,
more informed decisions.

Search
for more articles