12-19-09, 07:38 AM | #1 |
Lex Parsimoniae
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Woburn, MA
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The cure for Wall-Warts is here!
No-Load, Ultra-Low Standby and Remote-Off Mode | Power Integrations
Low standby current DC power supplies / battery chargers have been here for a while now. I think we have a couple in our house now. But I would love to get rid of those big (hot) transformer wall-warts ASAP.. I have a 9V wart from SparkFun that seems like it's a low load unit.. SparkFun Electronics - Wall Adapter Power Supply - 9VDC 650mA Looks like this.. And is very light, compared to transformer types. The IR pistol can't see much heat coming off it. It's got a red LED but seems to be using very little power (when not plugged into a load). |
12-19-09, 12:38 PM | #2 |
Master EcoRenovator
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Western Wisconsin.
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looks like a switching power supply, those tend to show no draw with my kill-a-watt meter if they are not hooked to anything else, that is what my phone charger is, I would like to get one for my lap top (12v) and my mini projector (12v) I wonder what the payback on them is.
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12-19-09, 08:53 PM | #3 |
Supreme EcoRenovator
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Austin, TX
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Power supply circuits are one of the fields I'm going to be specializing in. One idea I have is what I call Period Skip Resonant (PSR), which is supposed to combine the high full load efficiency of a resonant power supply with the low standby losses of a PFM supply.
That said, the best way to reduce standby losses is to standardize on voltages and use one large power supply instead of many smaller ones.
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To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her... |
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