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Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies

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The Department is firmly committed to informing the public of developments associated with this rulemaking. Register to receive email updates on rulemaking for battery chargers and external power supplies.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975 established an energy conservation program for major household appliances. Section 135(c)(4) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) amended section 325 of EPCA (42 U.S.C. 6295) by adding subsection (u) for battery chargers and external power supplies. Battery chargers (BCs) are devices that charge batteries for consumer products, including chargers embedded in consumer products. External power supplies (EPSs) are devices that convert household electric current into DC current or lower-voltage AC current in order to operate consumer products.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) set standards for certain types of EPSs and provided a timeline for DOE to evaluate energy conservation standards for BCs and to review, and possibly amend, existing standards for EPSs. This page provides additional information on BCs, EPSs, and the work that DOE continues to do for these products.

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Statutory Authority

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (Pub. L. 94-163) established an energy conservation program for major household appliances. Learn more about the laws and regulations related to appliances & commercial equipment standards.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58), amended section 325 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.) in part by adding a new subsection 325(u) that directs DOE to establish a test procedure, hold a scoping workshop, and conduct a determination analysis of energy conservation standards for BCs and EPSs. (42 U.S.C. 6295(u))

  • Battery Charger and External Power Supply excerpts from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, August 8, 2005 (PDF 205 KB)

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-140) significantly amended EPCA with regard to the energy conservation program for BCs and EPSs.

Section 301 defines a Class A external power supply (42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(C)) and sets efficiency standards for those products (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)). EISA 2007 directs DOE to publish a final rule by July 1, 2011, to determine whether the standards set for Class A external power supplies should be amended and, if such determination is positive, include any amended standards as part of that final rule. The statute further directs DOE to publish a second final rule by July 1, 2015, to again determine whether the standards in effect should be amended (once again including any amended standards as part of that final rule).

Section 309 modified the statutory provision which directed DOE to perform the determination analysis (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(I), as amended). Specifically, EISA 2007 removed battery chargers from the determination (leaving only external power supplies) and reduced the schedule for completing the determination to two years after the date of enactment (i.e., by December 19, 2009). Because DOE is already required to separately perform two rounds of rulemakings to consider amended efficiency standards on Class A external power supplies, the determination analysis under 42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(I) should not include these products. Therefore, DOE is interpreting 42 U.S.C. 6295 (u)(1)(E)(i)(I) as a requirement for a determination analysis that will consider in its scope only external power supplies other than Class A. This determination is scheduled for issuance by December 19, 2009.

Section 309 also requires DOE to issue a final rule prescribing energy conservation standards for battery chargers, if technologically feasible and economically justified, by July 1, 2011 (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(1)(E)(i)(II). This rulemaking will be bundled with the rulemaking for Class A external power supplies, given the related nature of such products and the fact that these provisions share the same statutory deadline.

Section 310 requires all test procedures for covered products to be amended to include test procedures for standby and off-mode energy consumption. For Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies, these amendments must be completed by December 31, 2008. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(B))

  • Battery Charger and External Power Supply excerpts from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, December 19, 2007 (PDF 133 KB)

  • Battery Charger and External Power Supply excerpts from the Energy Policy and Conservation Act as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, December 19, 2007 (PDF 139 KB)

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Current Regulations

Test Procedures

The current test procedures for battery chargers and external power supplies were developed as part of a rulemaking process establishing test procedures for several products contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

  • Final Rule, EPACT 2005 Test Procedures, Federal Register, December 8, 2006 (PDF 706 KB)

Energy Conservation Standards

Battery Chargers

There currently are no standards for battery chargers.

External Power Supplies

Section 301 of EISA 2007 established minimum efficiency standards for Class A EPSs effective July 1, 2008. The provision is reproduced here:

(6) EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR CLASS A EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLIES-

  1. IN GENERAL- Subject to subparagraphs (B) through (D), a class A external power supply manufactured on or after the later of July 1, 2008, or the date of enactment of this paragraph shall meet the following standards:

    Active Mode
    Nameplate Output Minimum Efficiency (decimal equivalent of a percentage)
    <1 Watt 0.5 times the nameplate output
    1 to not more than 51 Watts The sum of 0.09 times the natural logarithm of the nameplate output and 0.5
    >51 Watts 0.85
    No-Load Mode
    Nameplate Output Maximum Consumption
    Not more than 250 Watts 0.5 watts

  2. NONCOVERED SUPPLIES- A class A external power supply shall not be subject to subparagraph (A) if the class A external power supply is—

    1. manufactured during the period beginning on July 1, 2008, and ending on June 30, 2015; and
    2. made available by the manufacturer as a service part or a spare part for an end-use product—
      1. that constitutes the primary load; and
      2. was manufactured before July 1, 2008.

  3. MARKING- Any class A external power supply manufactured on or after July 1, 2008, or the date of enactment of this paragraph shall be clearly and permanently marked in accordance with the External Power Supply International Efficiency Marking Protocol, as referenced in the Energy Star Program Requirements for Single Voltage External AC-DC and AC-AC Power Supplies, version 1.1 published by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Definitions

Battery Charger

42 U.S.C. 6291(32) as amended by Section 135 of EPACT 2005
The term battery charger means a device that charges batteries for consumer products, including battery chargers embedded in other consumer products.

External Power Supply

42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(A) as amended by Section 135 of EPACT 2005
IN GENERAL- The term external power supply means an external power supply circuit that is used to convert household electric current into DC current or lower-voltage AC current to operate a consumer product.

Consumer Product

42 U.S.C. 6291(1)
The term consumer product means any article other than an automobile, as defined in section 32901(a)(3) of title 49 of a type—

  • which in operation consumes, or is designed to consume, energy or water with respect to showerheads, faucets, water closets, and urinals; and
  • which, to any significant extent, is distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by individuals without regard to whether such article of such type is in fact distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by an individual, except that such term includes fluorescent lamp ballasts, general service fluorescent lamps, incandescent reflector lamps, showerheads, faucets, water closets, and urinals distributed in commerce for personal or commercial use or consumption.

Class A External Power Supply

42 U.S.C. 6291(36)(C) as amended by Section 301 of EISA 2007

  • IN GENERAL- The term class A external power supply means a device that—
    • is designed to convert line voltage AC input into lower voltage AC or DC output;
    • is able to convert to only 1 AC or DC output voltage at a time;
    • is sold with, or intended to be used with, a separate end-use product that constitutes the primary load;
    • is contained in a separate physical enclosure from the end-use product;
    • is connected to the end-use product via a removable or hard-wired male/female electrical connection, cable, cord, or other wiring; and
    • has nameplate output power that is less than or equal to 250 watts.
  • EXCLUSIONS- The term class A external power supply does not include any device that—
    • requires Federal Food and Drug Administration listing and approval as a medical device in accordance with section 513 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360c); or
    • powers the charger of a detachable battery pack or charges the battery of a product that is fully or primarily motor operated.

Detachable Battery

42 U.S.C. 6291(52) as amended by Section 301 of EISA 2007
The term detachable battery means a battery that is—

  • contained in a separate enclosure from the product; and
  • intended to be removed or disconnected from the product for recharging.

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Current and Future Rulemakings

In response to EISA 2007, DOE provided a report to Congress detailing its planned schedule for meeting the required rulemaking deadlines for all covered products, including BCs and EPSs. The report was published in February 2008.

  • Report to Congress on Appliance Energy Efficiency Rulemakings - Implementation Report: Energy Conservation Standards Activities, February 2008 (PDF 311 KB)

The following table gives the rulemaking schedule for BCs and EPSs as set forth in the report. Click on a rulemaking to learn more about it.

Rule Type Product Final Action Date Docket Number
Test Procedure BCs and EPSs (Standby Mode and Off Mode) and Multiple-Voltage EPSs December 2008 EERE-2008-BT-TP-0004
Determination Non-Class A EPSs December 2009 Not yet assigned
Standard BCs and Class A EPSs July 2011 EERE-2008-BT-STD-0005
Standard Class A EPSs July 2015 Not yet assigned

In addition to the rulemakings listed above, DOE is considering a rulemaking to develop a test procedure for measuring the active-mode energy consumption of battery chargers. No further information about this rulemaking is available at this time.

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Past Rulemakings

Test Procedures (from EPACT 2005)

Docket Number: EE-RM/TP-05-500

Test procedures for battery chargers and external power supplies were developed as part of a rulemaking process establishing test procedures for several products contained in EPACT 2005. To facilitate review of the relevant portions of this Final Rule, the Department highlighted the terms battery charger and external power supply throughout the Final Rule.

  • Final Rule, EPACT 2005 Test Procedures, Federal Register, December 8, 2006 (PDF 706 KB)
  • Learn more about the EPACT 2005 test procedures

Determination Analysis (from EPACT 2005)

Docket Number: EERE-2006-DET-0136

EPACT 2005 required DOE to issue a final rule to determine whether to issue energy conservation standards for battery chargers and external power supplies. DOE initiated this determination analysis rulemaking in 2006, which included a scoping workshop on January 24, 2007, at DOE headquarters in Washington, DC. The determination was underway and on schedule for issuance by August 8, 2008, when EISA 2007 was enacted.

  • Learn more about the EPACT 2005 Determination Analysis on Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies

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How to Submit Comments

DOE welcomes comments from stakeholders during the designated comment periods. Instructions for submitting comments during designated comment periods are on each of the individual rulemaking pages listed above.

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Contact Information

Victor Petrolati
Project Manager
(202) 586-4549

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