Innovation

Power Integrations (POWI), founded in 1988, is one of the leading innovators in the analog semiconductor industry for work in high-voltage power conversion. The products work toward a clean-power ecosystem by focusing on renewable energy and efficient consumption of power. They not only create highly integrated chips, but they also create energy-saving and energy-efficient technologies. The Silicon Valley-based company prides itself on maintaining its mission of clean technology. 

One of POWI’s flagship innovations is the Ecosmart technology that is integrated into their products. This technology allows the products to have dramatically reduced standby power in consumer electronics, preventing energy waste. Most devices, even when they are off, continue to use power. For example, having a TV plugged in but turned off or an Apple home pod continues to use standby power, which is the energy going to waste. A 2015 study by the NRDC found that “in an average US home, products in standby…consumed $165 worth of electricity per year.” Through the chip design and Ecosmart technology, POWI products prevent this standby power waste. Since 1998, 22 Billion EcoSmart ICs have been sold. In 2024 alone, EcoSmart technology has saved an estimated 11.5 TWh of standby energy, which is “equivalent to annual electricity usage of 1.6 million homes” and “saved more than 8 million tons of CO2 emissions.” 

POWI is widely accredited for their Ecosmart technology and the impact that it has had. The CEO, Balu Balakrishnan, was awarded the Discover Award for Technological Innovation in recognition of the environmental benefits of EcoSmart technology. The technology works towards the UN goals of industry innovation and infrastructure, as well as responsible consumption and production. The Ecosmart technology has impacted the semiconductor company greatly by providing an innovation to reduce energy wasted in standby mode. By reducing standby power consumption, POWI also encourages more sustainable energy use and promotes responsible production of electronics. 

Inspiration

The beginnings of the EcoSmart technology came from initial research on energy waste. Dr. Alan Meier at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory identified the sheer amount of waste that comes from standby power. In 1998, they released an initial study which estimated that “standby power accounted for approximately 5% of total residential electricity consumption in America.” Later, Dr. Meier found that standby power accounted for “10% of household power-consumption in some cases.” This research allowed innovators to see how much of an impact standby power has on energy waste. 

The EcoSmart technologies work to lessen this standby power and are integrated into POWI’s products. Dr. Meier worked directly with POWI CEO Balu Balakrishnan to study POWIs switch-mode power supplies and realized that more companies should be working towards similar efficiencies of POWI. The One Watt Initiative was originally proposed by Dr. Meier and was later launched by the IEA in 1999 to ensure that applications sold would use only one watt of energy in standby mode. This policy had large national implications as it set the standards for electronic devices. 

David Chen, senior director of applications engineering, works directly with a team of engineers to design products and ensure their efficiency. POWI’s Ecosmart technology demonstrates the company’s “green before green,” as Chen puts it, mission. Chen states that the company helps “the planet by saving energy for every single chip that they ship.” By actively prioritizing sustainability, POWI is able to work towards a greener semiconductor industry and continue to influence and lead the field with solutions to save standby power. Chen emphasizes that POWI works towards both innovation and sustainability, which is one of the things he finds meaningful in his job.

Overall impact

The Ecosmart technology has greatly benefited the company, and the business is “doing well while doing good,” as Chen puts it. The company has been very profitable, selling around 20 billion chips with the Ecosmart technology. Aside from profit, the technology has allowed POWI to establish their image within the semiconductor industry. POWI became known as an innovator in the space, branded with energy efficiency. The eco-marketing for POWI became very credible because the technology showed how the company was saving energy. This energy saving plays a role in reducing the overall wasted energy within society. Beyond that, higher efficiency also contributes to less material waste due to fewer external components in the product, and the lessened energy loss also causes there to be less heat loss. This leads to fewer fans and cooling technologies needed in the chips, so less metal is used, and the products are lighter, leading to more efficient shipping.   

In the long term, Chen sees a bright future for POWI, especially with devices being increasingly networked. As smart devices become more popular, like fridges or ACs, they connect to other devices which are connected to other networks. These devices continue to “talk” to each other when they are not in use, so technology with modes or functions that reduce the amount of energy put towards background tasks in order to reduce energy waste. “There’s still lots to figure out as far as standby [power] goes,” Chen says. The effect EcoSmart can have on standby power in the long term as it continues to expand is endless, as it continues to reduce the overall energy waste. Moreover, reducing this energy waste plays a part in ultimately decreasing carbon emissions. 

Business benefit

As a business, POWI has grown exponentially since the integration of EcoSmart technology. 

Because of the EcoSmart technology, the company’s mission of green technology was built, allowing it to establish itself within both the semiconductor and ecotechnology fields. Building this foundation, the company has been able to grow, creating strong connections with manufacturers and suppliers that also share their mission to create energy-efficient and profitable technology. The business’s employee network has grown, with more employees standing behind the growing business and its strong commitment to bettering the planet. 

The integration of EcoSmart technology also paved the way for more and more innovations to continue building a clean technology space. One example of this is PowiGaN Switch, which is coupled with the proprietary EcoSmart control technology by replacing traditional silicon transistors. This handles electricity more efficiently and faster than silicon, leading to less energy wasted, and devices can be made small and lighter. At APEC 2025, “TinySwitch ICs were the first to feature Power Integrations’ award-winning EcoSmart™ technology” and “enables power supplies that easily meet the light-load power consumption limit” while still delivering enough power for other functions. POWI technology continues to get better and better as engineers enhance the design of power supplies. Through the integration of EcoSmart technology, the company has been able to continue to create more energy-efficient technologies. POWI continues to build on its EcoSmart foundation to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of green technology.

Social and environmental benefit

Ecosmart’s benefit to society and the environment has been immense. CEO Balu Balakrishnan estimates that “EcoSmart technology saved enough energy to power about 1.6 million U.S. homes for the entire year, without adding cost, and without any change in behavior on the part of end users,” in 2020 alone. This is a drastic reduction in standby power, and the EcoSmart technology presents a lot of opportunity in the clean technology space. Balakrishnan believes the technology will continue to expand in the next few years “as billions of new electronic devices are connected to the grid, such as USB charging ports, smart utility meters, networked thermostats and myriad other “IoT” and smart-home devices.” He believes that the technology can continue saving even more energy as it becomes integrated into more and more devices. EcoSmart contributes directly to responsible consumption and infrastructure innovation by enabling low-energy, low-impact electronics for a connected future.

Interview

David Chen, Senior Director of Applications Engineering