An energy saving device that has an electrical inlet which connects to a general power outlet, and has at least one monitored electrical outlet connecting to a computing device, the energy saving device having at least one switched electrical outlet which connects to, and supplies electrical power to, at least one peripheral device, which in a preferred embodiment is a computer monitor. The energy saving device includes a switch to control electrical connection of the inlet to the switched electrical outlet, and thus to control supply of electric power to the peripheral devices. Other peripherals may include printers, speakers and desk lamps.

The present disclosure relates to an energy supply device for providing an output voltage and an output current. The device includes a first operating state, a second operating state, a measuring assembly, and a signal generator. The measuring assembly is configured to sense a current amplitude of the output current of the energy supply device. The signal generator is configured to produce the output voltage and the output current. The signal generator is further configured to reduce a voltage amplitude of the output voltage of the energy supply device in the first operating state to change to the second operating state if the sensed current amplitude falls below a first current threshold value and to increase a voltage amplitude of the output voltage of the energy supply device in the second operating to change to the first operating state if the sensed current amplitude exceeds a second current threshold value.

In a charging device having a power element for producing a charge voltage for charging a battery pack from an input voltage provided by an input voltage source, the power element and the input voltage source being capable of being connected to one another in electrically conductive fashion via a separator that can be controlled by a control unit, and the separator being fashioned for the purpose of producing, in an allocated switching mode, an electrically conductive connection between the power element and the input voltage source and, in an allocated separating mode, separating this electrically conductive connection, the control unit is connected, at least for standby power supply, to an allocated energy storage device, and is fashioned for the purpose of controlling the separator during the transition from a charge operating mode to a standby operating mode of the charging device, in order to change the separator over from switching mode to separating mode.

A device and method are provided for saving power and electricity in a charging device including external power supplies and battery chargers having a primary circuit and a secondary circuit where a switch is located in the primary circuit and a current sensing device in the secondary circuit to sense when there is a drop in current in the secondary circuit or no current in the secondary circuit because the load such as a cell phone or tablet is charged and when this occurs the switch in the primary circuit is opened and the primary circuit no longer draws power from the source of power until the switch in the primary circuit is closed by activation of a user of the charging device.

Systems and devices are described herein for reducing a phantom load. The system may include a device for connection to a power source and a transformer or machine, wherein the device is configured to disconnect the transformer or machine from the power source under a predetermined load condition. The device may include a contactor, a current detector, a timer, and a controller. Portions of the current detector, timer, or controller may be implemented in a microcontroller.

A battery charger including an electronic circuit configured to control the battery charger such that if an electrical input connector is connected to mains electricity, and an electrical output connector becomes connected with a device to be charged, the electronic circuit is configured to sense wake-up current coming from the device to be charged and an on/off-switch is controlled on such that a transformer is connected to the mains electricity, whereby the battery charger starts to charge the device to be charged.

An energy storage converter and an energy storage system are provide. The energy storage converter includes: a DC switching power supply circuit configured to provide a first power supply using DC power from the DC side port; an AC switching power supply circuit configured to provide a second power supply using AC power from the AC side port; a power supply circuit configured to supply power to the energy storage converter using the first power supply or the second power supply; and a control circuit configured to, based on an operation state of the energy storage converter, control the DC switching power supply circuit or the AC switching power supply circuit to provide the power supply circuit with power supply. A power supply mode is selected based on an operation state of the energy storage converter. The DC/AC switching power supply circuit independently supplies power at the same time.

The technology described herein relates to methods and systems for reducing standby power consumed by electronic devices. A control unit is powered by a control unit power source. The control unit power source, in some embodiments, comprises a first photovoltaic driver and a second photovoltaic driver mounted in an anti-parallel configuration. In other embodiments, the control unit power source is a battery (e.g., a rechargeable battery). In addition, the control unit can cause a load power source to switch off upon detection of an absence of a load (e.g., by using the load detector) without the use of a shunt resistor. The control unit also causes the load power source to discharge electricity to the load upon detection of the load.

Disclosed embodiments provide methods, systems, and computer program products for implementing intelligent power shifting in an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system for enhanced system efficiency. Disclosed embodiments implement intelligent power shifting to decrease UPS power consumption during normal system operation in the presence of a main power signal, increasing system efficiency, while providing redundancy in the absence or a disruption of the main power signal. Power shifting is based on an intelligent algorithm for controlling current through power supply units (PSUs) of the UPS system to shift a substantial portion of the main power signal through PSUs that are connected to power distribution units (PDU) not powered through the UPS, reducing power consumption by the UPS.

An embodiment of the invention discloses a method for powering down a power converter with a photo coupler. Responsive to disconnection of a load from the power converter, the power converter is placed into a standby mode, during which a LED current flowing through the LED of the photo coupler is switched a predetermined number of times at each predetermined period, where the predetermined number is at least once.