USB Power Delivery (USB PD) is a fast charging specification developed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), designed to achieve high power and high efficiency power transmission through USB interfaces. With technological advancements, USB PD has continuously evolved, and the latest USB PD 3.1 specification has expanded the power range to 240W (48V, 5A), significantly enhancing charging efficiency and convenience. The USB Power Delivery (USB PD) passthrough feature is a power transmission characteristic based on the USB Type-C interface, allowing high-power power transmission through a single USB-C connection, thereby powering connected laptops or multi-port adapters/hubs.
By using a supported USB-C laptop with the Power Delivery passthrough feature, you can conveniently utilize your existing USB-C laptop power adapter to power both the laptop and the multi-port adapter/hub. The prerequisite for this feature is that the USB-C port on your laptop must be compatible with USB Power Delivery to ensure that the hub can effectively power and charge the laptop. The operation method is to connect the USB-C laptop power adapter to the hub, and then achieve "passthrough" power to charge the laptop through a single USB-C connection.
Regarding reserved power:
Most multi-port adapters/hubs reserve a certain amount of power for themselves and downstream ports (usually between 4W and 15W, depending on input and output conditions). For example, if you use the HB30C4AFPD hub, which reserves 7.4W of power, with a 60W USB-C power adapter, then through the PD passthrough feature, the laptop will receive 52.6W of power.
For host USB-C ports that do not support USB PD:
It is important to note that not all USB-C ports fully support all the features of the USB Type-C standard. Although multi-port adapters/hubs can connect to host laptops with USB-C ports that do not support USB Power Delivery, in this configuration, if the power adapter is connected to the multi-port adapter/hub, it will not be able to transmit power to the host laptop.
