The worldwide market for external AC-DC power supplies will rise from $5 billion in 2005 to $7.7 billion in 2010, a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent, according to analysts at Darnell Group Inc. in Corona, Calif.

The external AC-DC power supply market is more than five times larger than the embedded AC-DC power supply market in unit terms and more than 15 times larger than the DC-DC converter market, Darnell experts say.

The external AC-DC market is ­ultra competitive, highly commoditized, and operates in low wattages with correspondingly low prices. Darnell’s findings are in the firm’s latest report, External AC-DC Power Supplies: Global Market Forecasts and Competitive Environment, Second Edition.

The updated 238-page report provides a detailed examination of the external AC-DC power supply market and the trends that drive it. The report’s power forecasts are based on a quantitative forecast of 22 distinct applications that come from the communications, computer, consumer and medical segments.

Click here to enlarge image

External AC-DC power supply opportunities and threats are exposed in an analysis of pertinent application trends, economic factors, regulatory changes, semiconductor advances, and technological threats.

Within a market of this size are opportunities for growth, but also pitfalls to be avoided. Low-priced, low-wattage external power supplies are leading growth opportunities in Asia. In North America, the laptop-as-a-desktop-replacement trend is pushing Notebook PCs above the 100-watt threshold.

Potentially the largest discontinuity in the market arises from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program’s adoption of external power supply efficiency standards.

The real disruption, however, comes from the California Energy Commission’s move to make Energy Star’s specification mandatory in that state. The effects of these regulations will be felt, but not necessarily for the most obvious reasons. Monolithic one-chip semiconductor solutions from the likes of Power Integrations and others are also creating rifts in the market.

For more information, or to buy a report, contact Darnell by phone at 951-279-6684, ext.240; by e-mail at tshepard@darnell.com; or online at www.darnell.com/consulting/study.php?mc_id=13.