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Under 50W Segment Driving AC-DC Power Supply Growth

January 18, 2016 by Jeff Shepard

Darnell Group's Twelfth Edition analysis of "AC-DC Power Supplies: Worldwide Forecasts Trends, Developments and Competitive Environment" is an in-depth analysis detailing the latest developments in this important market. The embedded ac-dc power supply market is projected to see considerable growth over the next five years, with the dollar market increasing from $22.9 billion in 2015 to $31.1 billion by 2020, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%. Forecasts in this report include a number of developments occurring in new areas of opportunity such as the emerging smart grid, solid state lighting, developments in building automation and electric vehicle charging, as well as in traditional areas including communications, computers, industrial, and so on.

“One of the more important findings of this report are the dynamics involved in the projected growth in the lower wattage ranges; specifically the under 50W range. Power supplies in this range will not only maintain the largest unit market over the forecast period, they will grow 33.0% faster than the overall embedded power supply unit market,” commented Richard Ruiz, Research Analyst with Darnell Group and the author of this report. “In fact, led by the computer, communications, consumer and emerging smart grids markets, the percentage of embedded power supplies under 100W is anticipated to grow to make up over 77.0% of the overall embedded power supply unit market by 2020. However, the opportunities for manufacturers here are projected to be considered as long-term opportunities as many of the faster-growing applications in this range are currently in the early stages of captive production,” Ruiz concluded.

In terms of applications, embedded power supplies designed for smart grid systems which include smart meters, electric vehicle chargers, smart appliances, and so on, are projected to continue to make up the fastest growing unit market. Smart meters discussed in this report utilize sophisticated communication capabilities to monitor energy usage and allow residential/business consumers to make informed choices about how much energy to use. They include electricity, gas and water, with smart meters measuring electricity making up over 98.0% of the total smart grid unit market over the forecast period.

Despite its large size, the consumer segment will continue to be one of the least attractive areas for power supply manufacturers as it consists largely of highly commoditized lower-wattage and inexpensive power supplies. In addition, a large part of this market is captive production and as a result, the power supply market for this segment will make up one of the larger unit markets, while maintaining one of the smaller dollar markets over the forecast period.

“One of the more dynamic areas in embedded power supplies is the emergence of digital power management and control. The adoption of this technology is one of the most important factors in reducing power consumption and managing growing power complexity in modern electronic systems. This report identifies a number of market trends and technologies involved in driving digital power management and control in the ac-dc power supply market.” observed Ruiz.

Over 80 tables and graphs are presented in this report covering the embedded power supply market for 41 applications. The focus of this comprehensive analysis will be to provide decision makers with a detailed and insightful look at the current and future opportunities available in the embedded power supply market. The focus of this comprehensive analysis is to provide decision makers with a detailed and insightful look at the current and future opportunities available in the ac-dc power supply market.

Darnell Group is the leading source for worldwide strategic information covering the full spectrum of power electronics, energy storage and generation. The company specializes in the economic/business analysis of emerging power markets and technologies.