Cheap may prove costly

Power supply manufacturer PULS UK believes cheap inefficient power supplies, often used in everyday household and office electrical equipment, are wasting energy and increasing carbon emissions.

A power supply device sits hidden inside, for example, a computer, TV set, and industrial machinery, and converts mains AC power into DC power suitable for powering the equipment involved. There are wide variations in the quality of power supplies and in many cases an excessive amount of energy is lost during the conversion process, often greater than 25%.

For example, if energy costs are 10p/KWh and we use a computer with a 1KW power supply, if the power supply is only 80% efficient this would mean a wastage of 250W, whereas a unit delivering 96% efficiency would lose only 52W, equating to a £174 a year saving and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

PULS UK believes that as well as wasting less energy, high-quality power supplies are more reliable and last longer than many cheaper alternatives, so the lifetime cost of using them is actually lower.