One of the technical characteristics that we can see in the power supplies is the 80 PLUS certificate , of which there are several variants that indicate their level of quality, as well as their specifications. Since it is an important element in the purchase, we have decided to make a comparison between the different levels and what each one means. So what is an 80 PLUS certificate and how many are there?
The purchase of the power supply for your PC is very relevant, since you not only have to choose the one that gives you the necessary power to power your entire computer, but also that it has sufficient efficiency when it comes to transforming energy electrical. The 80 PLUS certifications help us to know how well the PSU that we have installed to our desktop PC works.
What is the 80 PLUS certificate
It is a certification that the different manufacturers of power supplies (PSU) have agreed to comply with when manufacturing these products that they manufacture. This serves as an aid to the end user to know both the specifications and the level of efficiency of the source when converting all the electrical energy to power the computer.
Let’s not forget that what a power supply does is convert the alternating current from the outlet to direct current, but in this process a loss of energy occurs. The name 80 PLUS comes from the fact that they are power supplies that have a minimum efficiency of 80% , so the rest of the energy (20%) is lost as heat. This means that if an 80 PLUS certified power supply has a power of 1000W, at least it should be able to supply 800W.
Note: We must take into account that all the heat generated by any component (SSD, processor, graphics, etc.) is energy transformed into heat that is considered lost. There is no material or component without heat loss.
So, as you may have already deduced with the explanation, under the 80 PLUS certification, the different PSU manufacturers refer to their power supplies as having an efficiency equal to or greater than 80%.
The 80 PLUS certification was born in 2004 , without any addition to the name in its most classic version of all, offering the aforementioned 80% efficiency. Subsequently, this level of certification was renamed 80 PLUS White. This was in 2008, when the 80 PLUS Bronze, 80 PLUS Silver, and 80 PLUS Gold certifications were added. In 2009 the 80 PLUS Platinum was added to finish with the 80 PLUS Titanium in 2012.
Since then no new levels have been created and manufacturers have met the certification on their power supplies.
PFC or power factor correction
One of the things to understand about 80 PLUS certified power supplies is the potential factor . It is achieved by taking on the one hand the measured real power delivered by the power supply to divide it by the apparent power , which would be obtained by multiplying the volts by the amps.
Power supplies typically have a power factor of 0.7 or 0.75 . Some have what is called power factor correction which makes the number go up to 0.9. Well, 80 PLUS certified power supplies make use of PFCs to achieve greater efficiency when converting alternating current to direct current.
Keep in mind that a power supply is an analog electronic circuit and usually uses a capacitor to operate with the voltage of direct electricity. Such a capacitor can undergo a phase change during conversion from one type of current to another, which can lead to lower power factor. So the PFC is still an additional circuit that is responsible for correcting such losses.
Characteristics of the 80 PLUS certificate
Manufacturers must pay to have their power supplies certified . This fee, it should be noted, is a fairly important amount. At that time, the source is subjected to certain load tests in which its efficiency is measured at different load levels and, based on the results, it is given one or another 80 PLUS label that defines its minimum efficiency.
Below you can see the screenshot of the certification of an Antec power supply. It is seen how voltages are measured in the different channels , as well as the input and output watts (and with these, the efficiency is calculated) in situations of 20%, 50% and 100% load (in recent times it is also measured efficiency at 10% load). You can see in the example that to give 1202 watts of output, this source needs 1382 watts of input, delivering an efficiency of 87% at 100% load.
These tests are quite rigorous and reliable, and effectively denote the efficiency of a power supply and therefore define the characteristics of the certificates as such.
Example of the certification report of an Antec SG-1200 power supply
Problems with this certificate
The certification label serves to visually inform the user of the quality of the product in a simple way . It would be similar to other certifications, such as the energy efficiency of household appliances. But this 80 PLUS certificate has several important deficiencies.
Unrealistic parameters and tests
This certificate was initially interesting, but with the evolution of computer hardware, it has become obsolete . Parameters are only measured at loads of 20%, 50% and 100%, in addition to loads at 10% for the 80 PLUS Titanium certificate. What happens between these load levels is not covered by the certificate.
Another shortcoming is that all tests are performed at a standardized temperature of 23 °C. Said temperature is said to be typical of a gaming computer. The placement of the source, the type of case and the use can vary the basic temperature inside a computer. In addition, we must take into account the surrounding temperatures, since in summer in many parts of Spain we can exceed 30 °C without problems.
Another problem with this certificate is the working voltage used in the tests. The tests are carried out at a voltage of 115V , which is the voltage used in the United States and other countries. In Spain, and in Europe, the voltage of 230V has been normalized. What is done is an extrapolation of the results, which is not the best method.
As we can see, the tests carried out are unrealistic.
Unreliability and fake 80 PLUS certificates
Unfortunately, a list of power supplies that have been certified is not offered. This means that we must trust the manufacturers of power supplies. Manufacturers like Corsair, Antec, FSP, Cooler Master, Gigabyte, ASUS and other well-known ones are reliable. But there may be more “exotic” manufacturers that we should not trust.
A fairly clear case is a Chinese manufacturer of power supplies that presents one of these labels. The reality is that it seems quite likely that a Chinese manufacturer will certify their power supply. This is not to say that they don’t exist or that the fonts they offer are inherently bad, it may be a good product.
This means that we must be very careful when purchasing a power supply. We must go to recognized manufacturers and doubt power supplies with very low prices, since they may not comply.
Voltage 5VSB
According to the ATX specifications , the efficiency at the 5VSB voltage must be measured . The 80 PLUS certification skips this voltage and does not verify it. This tension is important.
The certificate currently takes into consideration the voltages of +12V, 5V and 3.3V. Additionally, it takes into consideration the -12V voltage . Note that this last voltage is considered irrelevant in the ATX specifications. The reason is that no modern component makes use of this -12V voltage .
System off or on standby
Even with the computer turned off and the power supply cut-off switch in the off state, there is still a consumption. Said consumption is parasitic or ghost, it is very low, but it continues to exist. Most of this power is wasted in the 5VSB circuit.
The European Union , since 2010, has the ErP Lot 6 directive on electronic products that have energy consumption. Standby power consumption (in the cases highlighted above) was set to be less than 1W. Currently, it has been reduced to 0.5W.
There is also an ErP Lot 3 directive that establishes parameters for computers and servers. It is forced to consume less than 5W when the load is equal to or less than 2.75W on the 5VSB circuit.
This parameter is not limited in this certificate.
The shortcomings of these 80 PLUS certifications
The problem with the 80 PLUS certifications is none other than that in order to comply with each of them, low consumption levels are not taken into account. What do we mean by this? Well, while the load levels are low, such as having the PC turned off or at rest, then the manufacturers do not have to maintain high levels of efficiency.
This means that if the necessary load level of the PC is low, we can find not only that the efficiency of the PSU does not follow what said level of the 80 PLUS certification says, but also that it may be below 80 %. Of course, low-drain devices use their own power supplies that are designed to handle much lower power levels.
Summary
- Too few measurements to classify a power supply into one of its categories
- Methodology allows manufacturers to present products with gold as a conductor, more efficient than copper
- Measurement temperature that has little to do with a computer in a domestic environment
- The ErP Lot 6 and ErP Lot 3 standards issued by the European Union are not taken into consideration.
- 5VSB mode efficiency is ignored
- Total ignorance of the instruments used for the tests
- There is no index of certified sources, something that many use to add this badge to their power supply without having passed the test
- If a manufacturer changes something to the power supply, a new evaluation of the power supply is not performed
Types of 80 PLUS certificates
At first glance the differences between the different certifications may seem very small, but the level of the power supply circuitry reaches higher and higher levels of complexity in order to gain a little efficiency. So the power supplies with the most advanced certifications and are consequently the most expensive.
The fact that a power supply is more efficient allows us to save on the electricity bill , since the electricity company does not make us pay each month for the amount of energy we use, but rather what we obtain from the power outlets of our home or business, so choosing a good power supply with an advanced 80 PLUS certification becomes a money saver over time.
Another advantage is the fact that sources with a higher level of efficiency make less noise, since by releasing less power in heat they cause the fan to turn on fewer times.
Certificate Comparison
| Burden | 80 PLUS | 80 PLUS Bronze | 80 PLUS Silver | 80 PLUS Gold | 80 PLUS Platinum | 80 PLUSTitanium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | – | – | – | – | – | 90% |
| twenty% | 80% | 82% | 85% | 87% | 90% | 94% |
| fifty% | 80% | 85% | 88% | 90% | 92% | 96% |
| 100% | 80% | 82% | 85% | 87% | 89% | 91% |
| PFC | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.95 | 0.95 |
How to choose the right 80 PLUS certification
What certification does is give us information about how efficient our power supply is. The bigger the label, the better the power supply, at least in theory. It is always interesting to choose a power supply with one of these certifications, preferably 80 PLUS Bronze or higher.
Due to recent political tensions between the United States and China , power supplies have become noticeably more expensive. This makes accessing certifications like 80 PLUS Gold or higher quite prohibitive. But whenever we can, it is convenient to pay for a certified source and from a verified and verifiable manufacturer.
For the average user, the 80 PLUS Bronze certification is more than enough, as it guarantees (theoretically) good efficiency . If we have equipment with mid-range or high-end components, or our PC will be used for video editing and the like, we may be interested in a higher certification. It is no longer just efficiency, but the protection of the components that we have installed.
The problem, as we have highlighted, is in the certification itself. There is no rigorous certification control and the tests carried out are not the most appropriate.
In addition, we can find uncertified power supplies on the market. OEM equipment or clone computers usually carry very cheap generic power supplies without certification. Do you mean they are bad? It does not have to, since the 80 PLUS certificate is not entirely reliable, but it is normal for them to be of relatively low quality.
Aspects that we must take into account
Keep in mind that in Spain and within the EU it is not applied as such . An 80 PLUS White, or 80 PLUS dry, efficiency certification is the lowest certification a power supply can achieve, yet it still meets the standard of providing greater than 80% energy efficiency under load conditions. 20%, 50% and 100%, with a power factor of 0.9 or better.
In this case, a power supply with the 80 PLUS White label guarantees a minimum of 80% efficiency when working at voltages of 115 V, and an efficiency of 82% at 20% load, 85% at 50% load and from 82% to 100% charge when working on 230 V voltages (the one we use in Europe).
Speaking of Europe and its regulations, for some years it has been required that all electrical products have certain minimum efficiency values. These are slightly lower than those stated in the 80 PLUS Bronze certification , which comes immediately after 80 PLUS White. This means that many fountains that carry this certification cannot be sold in Europe because they do not meet the minimum efficiency requirements, while if you see fountains that have the 80 PLUS White seal and are sold, it is because they do meet the European standard and which are therefore pretty close to having been 80 PLUS Bronze and not White.
In any case, it is an issue that you should be careful with, because it is possible to find some models that are being sold without complying with European regulations because they were already on store shelves before it came into force.
That 80 PLUS White is the lowest of the 80 PLUS certifications (it is below Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium) does not necessarily mean that the power supply is bad, just that it is not one of the most efficient on the market, but It will always be above power supplies that do not have any certification, especially OEMs where you can find some PSUs with performance and efficiency that are to feed them apart because of how bad they are.
For this reason, a PSU labeled 80 PLUS White is usually synonymous with a reliable PSU with fairly decent performance , albeit with a well below average price tag. In other words, they are usually sources with good reliability and performance, at affordable prices , so they are not bad at all.
That yes, of course there is a whole range of power supplies with better efficiency on the market, but not necessarily with better performance since there are many other factors to take into account when determining if a power supply is good or not. beyond 80 PLUS White certification
Is this certificate reliable?
The short answer is no, and it’s unreliable for a variety of reasons. To begin with, the manufacturer sends two PSUs to the entity and they are used for testing, but the result is just a reference and this means that not all of the manufacturer’s PSUs pass the test. ; In other words, only two units pass the test and the rest of the units that are manufactured (which will easily be thousands of units) do not pass it, assuming that since they are manufactured the same they will give the same values.
The reality is different; obviously, if a source is manufactured with exactly the same process as another, it is normal that it gives the same result, but the problem is that the environmental conditions can change, as well as the internal components used, the batches of material, etc. To give an example, let’s say that a manufacturer uses a certain supplier of copper to manufacture the components of its source, but over time changes to another supplier that leaves it cheaper.
Obviously, copper is copper, but depending on the supplier, it can have certain properties or others and change the final performance of the power supply. This is just an example with copper but it can be applied to other components like transformers, capacitors and other internals, and even though things have changed at the source, they will still have the same 80 PLUS certification stamp that this family initially got.
This example that we have given you is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the 80 PLUS seal. At present and as we have said in the introduction, most users take it as a synonym of quality, and this was so in the beginning but now it is nothing more than a bonus that manufacturers must pay as part of their marketing program. And it is that if any manufacturer today launched a power supply on the market that did not bear the 80 PLUS certification seal, it is quite likely that not many users would venture to buy it no matter how good it was because they would not trust it .
Any manufacturer who wants their power supply to carry the 80 PLUS seal must pay a series of fees that are not exactly cheap, and that make the cost of the product quite expensive. For example, there is a $5,000 fee just to sign up for the certification program, and then you have to pay an additional $6,000 for each of the individual models you want to get certified on. So, for example, if a manufacturer launches a family of sources consisting of models with 500, 600, 700, 800 and 1000 watts, you will have to pay a total of $30,000, plus an additional $5,000 if you were not previously enrolled in the program.
An additional factor must be taken into account: rebranding. As you know, there are manufacturers that manufacture power supplies for third parties, such as Channel Well (CWT) that manufactures sources for DeepCool or Corsair. CWT will pay your fees to obtain the corresponding 80 PLUS certification, but third-party companies will only have to pay $3,500 to obtain the seal on their sources, even though they have made changes to them, changes that are often only aesthetic but that are also Sometimes they include internal changes.
These sources do not go through the certification and evaluation process again , they only “checkout” to obtain the right to carry the 80 PLUS seal and nothing else, despite the fact that they have made substantial modifications that will obviously affect the performance of the power supply.
In short, currently the 80 PLUS certification is a mere marketing cost that manufacturers assume because, as we have explained before, otherwise users would not trust when buying a power supply, but the reality is that neither does it provide peace of mind or reliability regarding the performance of the power supply.