Bid to standardise power adapters

The days when every piece of home communications equipment comes with its own special power adapter could be numbered.

The UN telecoms agency says it has taken a step towards establishing a universal standard for power adapters used by set-top television boxes, internet modems, and fixed-line telephones.

The Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said last night that a standard adapter would allow manufacturers to ship new devices without a separate power supply.

Consumers could also keep the power supply when throwing out obsolete equipment, cutting the amount of electronic waste worldwide by hundreds of thousands of tonnes of each year.

ITU said the new standard won’t be compulsory, but the recent experience of creating a standard for mobile phone power supplies showed most manufacturers support the idea.

Dr Hamadoun Touré, the ITU secretary general, said: “Our global standard for universal phone chargers received a very warm welcome from vendors and consumers, and I am certain that this new universal power adapter standard will enjoy the same worldwide success.

“These important environmentally-oriented standards will markedly reduce e-waste and greenhouse gas emissions, while saving money for vendors and consumers through more efficient use of raw materials and energy.”

A study carried out by the University of Genoa, commissioned by ITU and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, estimated that if the proposed standard adapter was widely adopted it would eliminate about 300,000 tonnes of e-waste annually.

The study showed it could reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of external power supplies by between 25% and 50%.

The new standard includes basic configurations and general requirements of UPAs and their interfaces: cable; connectors; voltage; current; ripple; noise; energy efficiency; safety; electromagnetic compatibility; resistibility and eco-environmental specifications.

The UPAs are designed for ICT devices in people’s homes, and provide alow-voltage input to a device by converting the AC mains voltage to a low-voltage DC output.