Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations to measure and improve secondary power supply efficiency

Secondary power supplies (SPS) are DC-DC converters embedded within electronic systems used to convert DC electricity at one voltage into regulated DC electricity at a second voltage. They operate downstream of an electronic device's primary AC-DC power supply and are employed to develop the diverse array of voltages required by the complex electronic systems on the printed circuit board. Little is known about the total energy dissipated by these devices. They represent a diffuse but potentially very large opportunity for additional energy savings. This paper attempts to determine the feasibility of creating a standardized test procedure for measuring secondary power supply efficiency, quantify the power conversion losses in these devices, and identify opportunities to improve their efficiency.