效率一直是电源设计的主要目标，因为电力转换过程中的损耗通常会增加成本。
大数的力量
In 2004, the US EPA’s ENERGY STAR programme estimated around 10 billion power supplies in use worldwide — across computers, servers, printers, televisions, phones and more. That predates smartphones and the connected-device era, so the figure today is far higher.
Efficiency back then was poor. The same assessment found many designs converting only 30 to 60% of the power they drew, and the prevailing industry design guide for PC power supplies required just 70% efficiency at 50% load.
Certified designs today are in a different class. 80 PLUS® Titanium requires 94% at 50% load on 115 V, and the newer Ruby tier 95%. Cybenetics Diamond, which averages efficiency across the full load range rather than fixed points, requires 95% or higher on 230 V. Seasonic’s PRIME ENTERPRISE RX-1600 is the first ATX power supply certified 80 PLUS® Ruby at 115 V and 230 V.
At the same 50% load point, that is 70% to 95% in twenty years. Across billions of units, that difference is a substantial amount of electricity no longer lost as heat.
认证的历史
Until the early 2000s, power supplies had no efficiency certification, and it was not until 2004 that the first initiative to create an efficiency standard emerged.
The 80 PLUS® program was created in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, an energy efficiency firm, and is today administered by CLEAResult, which acquired the program through Ecos’s successor company.
Sea Sonic partnered with Ecos Consulting at the time to work out uniform efficiency standards, and in 2005 became the first manufacturer to bring the world’s first 80 PLUS® certified PC power supply to market (the Seasonic SS-400HT). Since then, 80 PLUS® certified power supplies have become a de facto component in PC systems.
了解效率
能效认证可以帮助消费者了解电源的效率。
效率百分比是通过将输出功率除以输入功率得出的；该数值越高，电源效率越高。转换过程中损失的输入功率会转化为热能。
Higher-efficiency power supplies often require more advanced designs and components. However, an 80 PLUS® rating specifically certifies energy efficiency, not overall build quality. During certification, the power supply is tested at several load levels, including 100% of its rated output, to verify its efficiency under the defined test conditions.
Cybenetics
Cybenetics 是一家PC硬件测试和认证公司。其成立的宗旨是革新电源产品的测试和比较方式，以便让终端用户更清楚地了解他们为系统购买的电源产品。
测量的重要性
The basic test methodology is that Seasonic doesn’t take only three or four measurements to define the efficiency or noise output of a PSU. On the contrary, it is applied more than 1450 different load combinations, starting from a minimal load and up to a full one; we get the average efficiency and noise readings, which define the PSU’s efficiency and noise ratings.
This provides Seasonic with a complete operational map of the PSU, allowing us to evaluate not only efficiency and noise, but also voltage regulation, ripple, and other important performance data.
| 效率等级（115V 输入） | 效率（1）（2） | Pf (3) | 5Vsb 效率 (1) (3) (4) | 吸血鬼之力（3） |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 钻石 | ≥93% overall efficiency | ≥0.985 | >79% | <0.10 W |
 Titanium | ≥91% & <93% overall efficiency | ≥0.980 | >77% | <0.13 W |
 Platinum | ≥89% & <91% overall efficiency | ≥0.975 | >76% | <0.16 W |
 Gold | ≥87% & <89% overall efficiency | ≥0.970 | >75% | <0.19 W |
 银 | ≥85% & <87% overall efficiency | ≥0.960 | >73% | <0.22 W |
 青铜 | ≥82% & <85% overall efficiency | ≥0.950 | >71% | <0.25 W |
| Efficiency Levels (230V inputs) | 效率（1）（2） | Pf (3) | 5Vsb 效率 (1) (3) (4) | 吸血鬼之力（3） |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钻石 | ≥95% overall efficiency | ≥0.950 | >78% | <0.12 W |
| Titanium | ≥93% & <95% overall efficiency | ≥0.940 | >76% | <0.15 W |
| Platinum | ≥91% & <93% overall efficiency | ≥0.935 | >75% | <0.18 W |
| Gold | ≥89% & <91% overall efficiency | ≥0.930 | >74% | <0.20 W |
| 银 | ≥87% & <89% overall efficiency | ≥0.920 | >72% | <0.23 W |
| 青铜 | ≥84% & <87% overall efficiency | ≥0.910 | >70% | <0.25 W |
Cybenetics 采用全面而现代的方法
- 无限次的样本测量
- High ambient temperature
- 5VSB测量
- 吸血鬼功率测量
- 设备的最新报告
- 正确的效率徽章
80 PLUS ®
80 PLUS® offers seven different efficiency certifications
| 80 PLUS 认证 | 115V 内部非冗余 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 PLUS 认证 | 5% | 10% | 20% | 50% | 100% |
 80 PLUS | - | - | 80% | 80% | 80% PFC ≥ 0.90 |
 80 PLUS 青铜 | - | - | 82% | 85% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 82% |
 80 PLUS 银 | - | - | 85% | 88% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 85% |
 80 PLUS Gold | - | - | 87% | 90% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 87% |
 80 PLUS Platinum | - | - | 90% | 92% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 89% |
 80 PLUS Titanium | - | 90% | 92% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 94% | 90% |
 80 PLUS Ruby | 85% | 91% | 93% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 95% | 91% |
| 80 PLUS 认证 | 230伏内部非冗余 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 PLUS 认证 | 5% | 10% | 20% | 50% | 100% |
| 80 PLUS | - | - | 82% | 85% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 82% |
| 80 PLUS 青铜 | - | - | 85% | 88% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 85% |
| 80 PLUS 银 | - | - | 87% | 90% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 87% |
| 80 PLUS Gold | - | - | 90% | 92% PFC ≥ 0.90 | 89% |
| 80 PLUS Platinum | - | - | 92% | 94% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 90% |
| 80 PLUS Titanium | - | 90% | 93% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 95% | 91% |
| 80 PLUS Ruby | 85% | 91% | 94% PFC ≥ 0.95 | 96% | 92% |