Is 2005 the year of the mobile fuel cell?

Deloitte is predicting that 2005 will be the year that ethanol-powered fuel cells will become commercially available. They rightly acknowledge that there are still many barriers to widespread adoption of fuel cells for mobile electronics, but they are betting that the benefits will eventually overcome these barriers. Will low power modes become an issue that mainly affects liquid fuels, rather than electricity, in the future? I can't see fuel cells becoming common for non-mobile devices.

(from Deloitte's TMT Trends: Technology Predictions 2005)

iGo Power Adapter

I was in Radio Shack tonight (no, I don't have a life) and noticed that they are selling the iGo power adapter.

It's essentially a replacement power supply for notebook computers that can simultaneously charge a second electronic device (phone, PDA, etc.). They offer a wide variety of iTips (the iWhatever naming madness is apparently still in vogue) that plug into the charging port of a specific device and adjust the voltage level. Here's an example iTip:


The advertised benefit is that one "brick" can replace several plug-in power supplies that one might carry around. I'm wondering if it might also reduce the number of power supplies people leave plugged in. It also appears to be a relatively small switching power supply, so it could reduce standby power if it replaces linear power supplies. People ostensibly aren't buying this for energy reasons, but it will be interesting to see if this type of product really takes off. The photo above also shows that it won some sort of award at this year's CES.

Power Over Ethernet Growing Fast

Rich mentioned Power over Ethernet (lopomo: Line-powered VoIP), a method of providing power to networked devices through the ethernet cable itself. This eliminates the power supply at the device itself, but requires the swith or hub to provide the power. An article on powermanagementdesignline.com (try to remember that url!) discusses the growth of PoE:

PoE not just "emerging" anymore: "In fact, new instances of PoE powered device applications are already coming to market. Security cameras and access control equipment rather quickly adopted the technology and on the horizon are other segments such as small office/home office (SOHO) systems, medical diagnostic equipment, RFID systems and others."

Since larger power supplies are easier and relatively cheaper to make efficient, centralizing many small power supplies at the switch or hub has the potential to save energy. Size and heat concerns will no doubt require the use of switching power supplies, but there is still bound to be much room for improvement, providing another good oportunity for standards.

Line-powered VoIP

One of the energy implications of Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony has been that the phone handset needs its own DC power source, typically a plug-in power supply (as opposed to a POTS handset, which receives power over the phone line from the phone company's central office). PoE allows the DC power to be distributed over the ethernet wire, which moves the power supply from the handset to the ethernet switch (in a home setting, this might be the broadband router). Now, Covad is introducing line-powered VoIP, in which the DC power is again distributed from the central office:

"This system of service delivery means that line-powered voice access provides a full primary telephone line replacement service. Most importantly, it is powered at the central office, just like traditional local service, ensuring continued phone service during a power outage. Also, it allows customers to use their existing phones and inside wiring, and avoid time-consuming and costly installations."

It's hard to know what effect this will eventually have on energy use (since it's replacing one type of central office power supply with another), but it seems preferable to having a separate power supply for each handset. Does anyone know how the power use of VOIP handsets compares to their POTS counterparts? I suppose cordless phones will still need a separate power supply for battery charging, so maybe it won't change today's situation very much (i.e., power supplies at both ends of the wire).

(from Yahoo Finance)

Monthly cell phone minutes

I suppose this may not be strictly related to lopomo, but according to IT Facts.biz, the average American cell phone subscriber spends 619 minutes per month on the cell phone:

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Indian subscribers are the fifth heaviest phone users at 309 minutes per month per subscriber. While subscribers in the US talk the most at 619 minutes a month, those staying in Canada are the second highest users with an average usage of 344 minutes a month. Telephone usage in India ranks higher than the fastest growing telecom market in the world - China, where subscribers talk an average of 261 minutes a month. According to the survey, conducted by Merryl Lynch in September 2004 across 40 major telecom markets, the average usage is about 235 minutes per month per subscriber.

That's about 20 minutes per day ... seems plausible. Actual talk time is probably responsible for relatively little of the overall energy use of a handset & charger, but it's a fun statistic nonetheless.

LBNL's 2004 Low Power Study

The final report for our study of low power mode consumption in California can be found at:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/final_project_reports/500-04-057.html

Some highlights:
* Low power consumption is over 100W of average consumption in the typical house
* This is over 15% of state residential consumption
* Over 2/3 of this is electronics

We took an expansive definition of low power and included Ready modes (because power management could often drop these to sleep modes after a period of time, e.g. on a VCR), and single-mode products (e.g. a surge protectors and GFCI outlets).

We also incorporated the time dimension of low power modes to exclude any consumption while the device was active or disconnected. Our core figure of merit is an annual average low power mode power consumption level.

A follow-on project to refine this estimate is supposed to begin shortly.

What to display on that Wall Furnace

GalleryPlayer is a new service that provides photographs for displaying on TV and computer monitors. As noted in their press release, people may be looking for content to display on their new flat panels:

"With the proliferation of Flat Panel TVs there is a growing demand for unique content to place on them," said Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. "A good example of a device that fills this need is GalleryPlayer which enables a flat panel TV to become the centerpiece for a party and turn a device that would otherwise be a distraction into an asset. It is this added utility that makes these new TVs so much more than the products they replaced. Products like GalleryPlayer are extremely important for the future of these new televisions."

So how will our estimates of the number of active hours for TVs need to be increased?

Why the STB makes Noise

From the Motorola FAQ:
Why does the set-top continue making noises even when it's turned off?
"Like some other appliance in the home such as your refrigerator, the set-top needs to remain on at all times to connect with the cable plant headend for continued exchange and refresh of data. The DVR set-tops have an internal hard drive and fan which remains on at all times. You will experience a slight humming noise during operation. There is no reason for concern. Again, similar to the humming from your refrigerator, this humming from the DVR means the box is on and running to serve your entertainment needs."

And it uses energy like a refrigerator too...