www.prbx.com ENERGY EFFICIENCY 15 www.power-mag.com Issue 3 2024 Power Electronics Europe Why the new Ecodesign rules will matter for the power industry. This introduction may appear to give the impression that it’s mostly the consumer segment that will be the subject of future legislation but in fact, inspired by the Ecodesign workgroup a lot of activities are taking place within industry to prolong lifetime and this is where it becomes an interesting area for the power supplies industry. Regarding consumer applications for power supplies, they are either built-in the equipment and part of the overall system, or external such as USB chargers, and the legislator is working on a classification of the level of reparability in making it environmentally and economically a good idea to repair instead of replace. This is part of the 2024 workgroup that is working in parallel with the industry to define reasonable classifications for the benefit of end users and the environment. Considering the high levels of integration and current building practices, e.g., the use of sealed plastic products such as external adapters, these may not be classified as repairable but the manufacturers might still have the obligation to guarantee support and service for ten years. Also, for embedded power supplies to listed equipments power supplies, manufacturers will be obliged to guarantee the availability of spare parts during the service period. At higher power levels, as for the energy consumption Ecodesign regulation, servers and data storage are already included in the proposition, and power supplies manufacturers are working in close cooperation with the European representatives to develop power solutions meeting the reparability needs, but also to guarantee longer life time in operation. When considering the circular economy, up to 80% of a product’s environmental impact can be determined at the design phase. When designing a power supply for a datacenter we always take into consideration energy efficiency, and power designers use the latest technologies such as Wide Bandgap Semiconductors in order to deliver the highest levels of performance. Regarding prolonging lifetime there is a lot of work going on to select components able to keep their original performance for more than ten years in operational conditions, but designers must also include reparability in the mechanical design, which could imply a modular concept easing maintenance, and when end of life arrives, recycling. For many designers it will be a new way of working but for those used to developing power solutions for refurbishing and system modernization it’s nothing really new and a lot of the best practices deployed in this industry are already meeting future Ecodesign regulations. Before Ecodesign regulation, Reuse, Repair and Prolong Lifetime was already the norm in the railway industry! Outside of what the Ecodesign is aiming for in consumer segments, many industrial applications require power supplies manufacturers to provide power solutions for refurbishing and systems modernization. Among many, the transport industry and especially the railway are the best examples to illustrate what might be applicable to other segments when it comes to Reuse, Repair and Prolonging Lifetime. One good example is the French railway state-owned operator, ‘Société National des Chemins de Fer (SNCF)’, which in September 2023 announced that as part of its commitment to sustainability, SNCF Voyageurs and its Rolling Stock Division are committed to optimizing the use and lifespan of their trains at every stage of their life cycle: mid-life and end-of-life refurbishment to extend their service life and combat obsolescence, and recycling and reuse of spare parts, etc. To achieve that goal, the SNCF has announced the commencement of a major refurbishing project to restore and upgrade 104 high speed trains, ‘Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV)’ to “combat obsolescence” (Figure 02). Figure 02 –SNCF is renovating 104 TGVs with the aim of expanding the current fleet’s lifespan. (Source: PRBX/SNCF)
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