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Home » Power
Understanding the 80 Plus Certification
Author: Gabriel Torres
Type: Tutorials Last Updated: November 4, 2010
Page: 3 of 3
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The Available Certifications

The difference between the five 80 Plus certifications available is summarized in the tables below. The numbers presented are the minimum efficiency a power supply must present under each load in order to be granted a given certification. As explained in the previous page, their numbers may be different from the numbers we see during our tests due to differences on the measuring equipment and especially on the room temperature (23º C on their tests vs. 45º - 50º C in our tests).

The requirements for each certification level depends on the market the power supply is targeted to. Non-redundant power supplies (i.e., the kind everybody uses) are tested at 115 V and use the table below.

115 V Non-Redundant

20% Load (Light)

50% Load (Typical)

100% Load (Full)

80 Plus Standard

80%

80%

80%

80 Plus Bronze

82%

85%

82%

80 Plus Silver

85%

88%

85%

80 Plus Gold

87%

90%

87%

80 Plus Platinum

90%

92%

89%

Requirements for redundant power supplies (used on servers), however, are slightly different, as you can see in the table below. Also, they are tested at 230 V, because this is the voltage used in datacenters (datacenters use a 230 V power grid basically because power consumption is lower at 230 V and since they have hundreds of servers running, they can save money in their electricity bill).  

230 V Redundant

20% Load (Light)

50% Load (Typical)

100% Load (Full)

80 Plus Standard

NA

NA

NA

80 Plus Bronze

81%

85%

81%

80 Plus Silver

85%

89%

85%

80 Plus Gold

88%

92%

88%

80 Plus Platinum

90%

94%

91%

Besides efficiency, all 80 Plus certification levels require a power factor (PF) of at least 0.90 (0.95 for the 80 Plus Platinum certification).

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