The EU Has A New Rule For Power Bricks – Here's What That Could Mean For The US

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After successfully mandating USB-C on phones by 2024, the European Commission is pushing forward with the next part of its common charger vision. One that seeks a removable USB-C cable on charging bricks instead of a fused design where the cable and the brick are a monolithic unit. To that end, it's revising the ecodesign requirements for all manner of external power supplies, including wireless chargers, wireless charging pads, and portable battery chargers. The shift in the EU bloc could very well reflect in the U.S. market, but not too dramatically.

The European Commission's latest requirements that chargers come with detachable cables will take effect in 2028, giving manufacturers a transition period of three years. Most smartphones, consumer laptops, and gadgets from mainstream brands have already switched to a power brick format with a detachable USB-C interface, so the status quo likely won't change. Simply put, you won't have to spend extra cash, even if the U.S. market follows in the footsteps. The situation, however, will be tricky for high-power laptops that breach the 240W output requirement, and also influence niche categories such as smart home devices.

While the push towards standardization of USB-C was a step in the right direction, the goal now is to further reduce the power usage, cut down on the pollution footprint, and reduce greenhouse emissions from electricity usage. The commission notes that more than 400 million external power supplies are sold annually in the EU alone. In order to achieve those goals, the executive branch of the European Union has proposed additional measures, such as interoperability for charging devices in the 240W output bracket, a minimum energy efficiency requirement, a limit on standby power consumption, and a durability mandate that can be fulfilled with a detachable cable. 

"All USB chargers on the EU market will need to have at least one USB Type-C port and will have to operate with detachable cables. These will be the Common Chargers," the EC said in a press release. Additionally, all devices adhering to the updated requirements will feature an EU Common Charger logo. The impact this decision will have on the U.S. will likely vary depending on the device. It'll likely be less significant for small devices such as phones and wearables, and only noticeable with larger devices such as laptops. As such, brands operating in the U.S. as well as the EU won't have to go through as much hassle as they did when the EU first mandated USB-C chargers and ended the concept of proprietary ports on consumer electronics devices.

Mainstream brands such as Apple and Samsung sell charging bricks that use detachable USB-C cables, and follow a similar strategy for their laptops and tablets. Many of their peers in the industry have also warmed up to the idea. The big challenge is gaming laptops, which require bulky high-power charging bricks with fused cables and rounded or rectangular pins. 

It won't make sense for brands to offer different kinds of chargers for each market, so they will have to make adjustments within the 240W baseline. Or simply continue with the current approach and raise the power output requirements to continue shipping chargers with fused cables. Notably, the latest iteration of the USB Power Delivery (PD v3.2) standard delivers up to 240W with a USB-C interface, while offering voltage flexibility of 9V, 15V, 20V, 28V, 36V, and 48V. That said, here's hoping that brands hawking their wares in the U.S. adopt the EU mandate for the sake of consumer convenience.