Re: X-10 friendly switchmode PS

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

I repeated the test using a +5V regulated linear power supply. Unloaded, it
uses about 6.5 times as much energy as the switchmode supply. Since both
cost about the same, it would take more than 20 years for the reduced energy
use to pay for replacing the linear model with the switchmode model. This
ignores shipping costs (which nearly equal the cost of the power supply) and
the probability that energy costs will rise over the 20 years. It also
ignores the time value of money.

The 20 year savings represent about 165kWh which, even if all of the costs
are attributed to the cost of oil alone, is less than 8 gals of crude at
today's prices.

nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote:

>I left the +5V model plugged into my Kill A Watt meter using the kWh mode
>with no load on the power supply to measure its energy usage when unloaded.
>
>It registered 0.01kWh sometime between 61 & 68 hours. This means when
>unloaded it uses less than 0.2W or less than 1.5kWh in a year for an
>approximate cost of $0.08 annually.
>
>I'll measure an unloaded linear +5V regulated supply for comparison.
>
>nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote:
>
>>The projects I'm working on will all require a +5 regulated supply so I've
>>been looking for one that I know is X-10 friendly to recommend.
>>
>>     http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/8615
>>
>>These are slender types that do not block adjacent outlets on a powerstrip.
>>I've only tested the 5V/2.6A model but think it safe to assume the other
>>models use the same design. I cannot see any noise nor any PLC signal
>>attenuation.