AC/DC power supply adapter consuming zero power when not loaded

The problem with most of the AC/DC power supply adapters used in charging mobile phones and tablets is that they consume some amount of power when they're not charging or powering the device. The user is forced to switch off the mains supply or remove the adapter from the mains port to save power. But now you have a solution where the power supply adapters can be designed to consume zero power when it is not powering any device. STMicroelectronics and Flextronics have jointly developed a plug-in charging platform based on ST multi-mode power-management controller IC STCH01. This design uses an innovative power-management architecture to achieve zero no-load power consumption and high dynamic load regulation. Due to billions of AC/DC adapters used worldover, the power wasted by keeping the power supply adapters unplugged from the wall is estimated at 300 MW or an annual waste of more than 2.5 billion kWh. This solution is essential for prevention of such wastage of power. STCH01 uses an architecture that minimizes transformer size and the number of external components required. “We're happy to have partnered with the ST team in jointly developing this revolutionary charger platform with zero no-load power consumption,” said Nate Vince, president of Flextronics Power. “Flextronics is focused on driving innovation and delivering high-quality and energy efficient power fo...