Electric utility-funded incentive programs such as the 80 PLUS program in North America certify – and pay incentives for – computers and data center servers that utilize energy-efficient power supplies.

The 80 PLUS performance specification requires that multi-output power supplies in computers and servers be 80% or greater energy-efficient at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load with a true power factor of 0.9 or greater.

By monitoring power factor and load metrics with newly available tools (see figure below), IT managers get a real-time view of energy efficiency for their equipment’s power supplies. This makes it easier to detect abnormal behaviors and plan for preventive maintenance when a power supply moves out of its specification’s range.