ICs with Power Integrations' EcoSmart technology include extra circuitry on the chip (using no additional-cost external components) that senses when a power supply is in a low-power state (no-load or standby). The "smarts" in EcoSmart then takes one or more steps to improve the efficiency of the power supply in this state:
- It lowers the "duty cycle", that is it limits the supply of power to the load, drawing less current from the electric utility
- It "cycle skips", supplying short bursts of power to the load, waiting for the device to "wake-up," using electric energy only during each short burst
- It lowers the frequency of the power supply, reducing the "switching losses," thus improving efficiency while in low-power operation
The above measures significantly improve the overall power supply efficiency because of two simple facts: power adapters, battery chargers and appliances are always plugged in; and the devices they power are typically in a low power state as much as 22 or more hours per day, every day. Since its introduction, manufacturers worldwide have adapted their designs to use Power Integrations' ICs in over one billion power supplies.
