Why GaN Chargers Feel Faster (Even When Wattage Looks the Same)

Over the years, consumers have been led to believe that the more power you can provide via a power supply, the better your power supplies and devices will be. Consequently, when most people look for a new power supply, they tend to focus only on its wattage rating and assume that since a 65 watt power adapter is rated higher than a 30 watt power adapter, that it must be a better power adapter. Also, typically, people will believe that the highest rated wattage available on the market will be the best power adapter, thus, a 100 watt power adapter would provide the best performance. Many consumers are discovering that their newest third generation chargers (GaN chargers) appear to offer faster and more reliable recharging times compared to the same rated wattage of traditional silicon chargers.

To understand the differences in performance and efficiency between gallium nitride chargers and their silicon counterparts, we will look at how electricity travels through GaN semiconductor devices versus that of Si-based semiconductor devices.

Beyond Silicon: What is Gallium Nitride?

For years, the silicon based semiconductor chip has been the core component of a power supply. A semiconductor allows for electrical flow based on how much voltage is applied to it. With this, silicon is a good semiconductor material but it has limitations. When electricity travels through a semiconductor chip, it creates heat. The hotter silicon becomes, the less efficient it becomes, resulting in less current being delivered to the device being charged. 

Gallium Nitride (GaN) is a brand new "Wide Bandgap" (WBG) material. To save you from the chemistry details, GaN enables electrons to travel at higher speeds and with less resistance than silicon. In the context of gan charging, this means the components can handle higher voltages in a much smaller space with significantly less energy lost as heat.

The "Sustained Power" Secret

The reason the best gan charger feels faster isn't necessarily because it's pushing "more" power than a silicon one; it's because it can sustain its peak power for longer.

When a standard silicon charger gets too hot, it activates a feature called thermal throttling for safety reasons, which causes the device to reduce its power output to protect the plastic case from melting and/or the internal circuitry from failing. For example, when you start charging your laptop with a 60W charger, you may find that after only 15 minutes of use (due to the extreme heat) it has dropped to 45W or possibly as low as 30W.

A high efficiency gan charger produces much less heat. Therefore, a Gan charger can be kept cool enough to produce the maximum advertised wattage throughout the entire charging cycle. As a result, when you charge from 0 to 100%, you will see that the gan charger will complete its cycle much faster than the traditional silicon charger.

Efficiency and the Multi-Port Dilemma

If you are looking for a multi port gan charger, you are likely dealing with Power Delivery (PD) negotiation. This is where most user confusion occurs. When you use a gan usb c charger with multiple ports, the internal controller has to decide how to split the available "juice."

In a gan charger for laptop and phone, the device uses safe gan charging technology to communicate with your hardware. If you plug in a MacBook, the charger may allocate 65W to the first port. If you then plug in an iPhone, the charger must "re-negotiate." It might drop the laptop to 45W and give the phone 20W.

The advantage of GaN here is the speed of this switching and the precision of the power delivery. A usb c pd gan charger can manage these shifts with minimal energy loss, ensuring that your devices receive the exact voltage they need without the "pulsing" sometimes seen in cheaper, older wall units.

Real-World Scenarios: Macbook and iPhone

Consider the common setup of a gan charger for macbook and iphone. A traditional setup would require two separate, bulky bricks. A single compact gan charger can replace both.

1. The Travel Factor: Because GaN components are so much smaller, a travel friendly gan charger can be 30% to 50% smaller than the Apple equivalent while offering more ports.

2. The Heat Factor: If you’ve ever touched a laptop charger after an hour of heavy use, you know it can be uncomfortably hot. Wall charger with gan technology stays significantly cooler, which is not just a matter of comfort, it's a matter of longevity. Heat is the number one enemy of battery health. A cooler charger often translates to a more stable "handshake" between the charger and the device's battery management system.

Choosing a GaN Charger in Australia

When searching for a GaN charger australia consumers should look for more than just the "GaN" label. Since Australia uses the Type I plug and has specific safety standards (RCM/SAA certifications), it is vital to ensure the device is built for local electrical grids.

A quick charging gan charger completely depends on the quality of the cable that you use with it. For instance, if you have a 100W charger but the cable that you are using is only capable of 30W, the charger will check the E-Marker chip of the cable and thus "downclock" its speed to prevent it from getting melted. Hence, your charger, cable, and device should be in harmony to get the most from your technology.

Understanding Wattage vs. Speed

A common myth related to charging electronics states that if a charger has a higher wattage than necessary to charge a given device, that device will "pull" more power from that charger. This is simply not true. Rather than having the power "pushed" to them by the charger, all devices "pull" the necessary amount of power based on their own internal requirements.

This means you can safely use a high-wattage gan charger for laptop and phone simultaneously. The "smarts" inside the GaN chip ensure that your phone only takes the 18W-27W it can handle, while the remaining overhead is available for your laptop. This versatility is why GaN has become the preferred choice for those looking to declutter their workspaces.

Summary: Is the Switch Worth It?

Even though the initial cost of GaN chargers is somewhat higher than that of conventional silicon chargers, the practical benefits far outweigh this small price difference. Some examples of these benefits are as follows:

• Longevity: The generation of less heat from GaN chargers means internal capacitors are less stressed, hence their life gets extended.
• Portability: With a reduced size, GaN chargers are the ideal choice for those who commute or travel on a regular basis.
• Performance: Unfortunately, GaN chargers suffer no thermal throttling, resulting in an overall reduction in the time it takes to charge electronics.
• Safety: Advanced PD protocols ensure that your expensive electronics are never over-volted.

The transition to GaN technology represents one of the most significant leaps in power electronics in the last twenty years. It isn't just about "fast charging", it's about "smarter charging."

In order to make the correct choice regarding the type of charging tool that fits your specific needs, first, you will want to understand the GaN charger technology, whether you are using it to charge your electronics in Sydney during your travels or in a café in Melbourne while conducting business.