Method for configurable aircraft USB power level management

A method of distributing power in an aircraft, the method comprising:

• assigning passenger seats of an aircraft to a plurality of seat groups, wherein for the plurality of seat groups;
• supplying power to a passenger control unit (PCU) of a plurality of passenger seats via a power supply,
• determining a priority for a plurality of connected devices within the group via a master PCU,
• providing power to a respective PCU of the group based on the determined priority via the master PCU;
• and
• for a plurality of passenger seats:
• providing a device connection via a USB port of a charging module at the passenger seat, wherein the device connection is (i) configured to supply power to a connected device and (ii) perform a handshake procedure with the connected device, wherein the handshake procedure comprises receiving an indication of both (i) a first power level to charge the connected device and operate the connected device and (ii) a second power level to operate the connected device but not charge the device,
• determining a supplied power level for a connected device with the PCU of the passenger seat,
• communicating the power requirement from the PCU of the passenger seat to the master PCU, and supplying power provided by the power supply to at least one charging module.