Power supply requirements for smart home appliances

Smart homes connect various household appliances through central point access. With IoT technology applied to every aspect of our daily life – from entertainment to security and more – homes are becoming increasingly smarter.

With a growing need for smart home appliances, power supplies need to keep up with this ever-growing trend of smarter power efficiency. These are therefore some of the latest power supply requirements for smart home appliances.

Smart homes require control systems with many low-power nodes and sensors that are ‘always-on’ and require continuous power.

Low power consumption

In terms of power consumption, smart appliances require reliable, continuous power 24/7. This is even more so when smart home appliances are used for security. Examples of smart security appliances include locks, security systems, cameras and smoke & carbon monoxide detectors.

In addition, standby consumption is another challenge that smart home appliances need to tackle. Most home appliances are plugged in for a long time, but they are not used all the time, with plenty of time on standby. Therefore, home appliances and control systems with low standby power consumption are more conducive to environmental protection and energy-saving.

Reliable power source

To provide real benefits for homeowners, smart home appliances need to provide real-time monitoring and control over every aspect of a property. In particular, as resources become scarcer and electric costs continue to rise, families are becoming more aware and concerned with how to use their energy most efficiently. One of the ways they can monitor their energy use is by installing a smart energy management system, which helps them understand when they use the most energy and the best techniques they can implement to conserve energy.

In terms of power supplies, a smart energy management system needs to operate even in complex IoT networks where multiple appliances are constantly interconnected. In such smart home systems, every home appliance operation relies on the data shared by another appliance. Any power failure or malfunction can tamper with the operations of the whole network by impeding the real-time data collection and transmission by the sensors involved in a smart home system. These sensors therefore need to be powered by a reliable power source.

First, the power supply must be extremely compact. Otherwise, it would be impossible to integrate them into devices. Second, they should be affordable because of their wide range of appliances available. Third, they must meet several highly specific requirements of smart home applications. For example, they should own the ability to withstand frequently changing load conditions as the application switches between active and idle modes termly. Last but not least, the power supply should be fully certified for use in industrial, commercial and household systems. The common standard for industry and communications is IEC 62368, and the required standard for home appliances are IEC 60335 and IEC 60558.

Compact power supplies must be as safe and reliable as possible. That is why they should come with proper protection against short circuits and overvoltage and also be conform to the EMC standards for residential areas. Power supplies for smart home applications are also exposed to frequently changing load conditions. Therefore, the power supply must be able to handle sudden load changes without causing extreme voltage peaks.

Mornsun power supply solutions for smart home appliances

To meet the emerging demands of smart building applications, our partner Mornsun has developed a series of compact AC/DC converters that represent a cost-effective power module option for applications with space limitations, like electric circuits in smart home appliances. Mornsun’s series of 3-90W ultra-compact cost-effective AC/DC converters LD-R2 is also a safe option, as they are 62368/ 60335/ 61558-certified.

Mornsun also provides the 1-15W AC/DC converter LS-R3 series. This series can simplify complex power supply design through flexible peripheral circuits. LS-R3 can be applied in almost all scenarios. It combines performance and productivity with excellent compatibility while saving costs from design to maintenance.

To end with, Mornsun’s LSF01-K5BXX series is also an excellent choice. It’s a series of single live wire power supplies, featuring ultra-compact size and ultra-low no-load power consumption (<5.2mW), and widely used in smart home applications.

Elipse, your partner for Mornsun power supplies

For over 15 years, Elipse has been the authorized design-in partner of Mornsun power supplies in the Benelux. Mornsun’s strong R&D and timely delivery combined with our engineering support and service gives you access to the most innovative and reliable products.

Contact us, if you have any questions or would like to receive a sample.