Plasma TV with Low Power Modes

A plasma TV produced by Mitsubishi and reviewed by Ultimate AV has a remote that has buttons to put it into both a standby mode and a sleep mode. It is not clear what the difference is between the modes, or what their energy use is, but the review seems to indicate that the low power modes are designed to help reduce burn in problems. However, I wonder if manufacturers are also beginning to be sensitive to the public perception of the high power use of plasma screens.

Mixed Up End Uses

Not strictly a lopomo topic, but more related to the continuing fuzification of end uses:

Last year Whirlpool brought out the Polara, the first range that could keep food cold until it was time to cook it. Now Sharp has turned that idea on its head with the introduction of a refrigerator that can keep a meal hot. So into which end use does one put the energy: Cooking? Refrigeration? Miscellaneous??

ADSL2 Low Power Modes

We have often made the point that the majority of energy savings opportunities in consumer electronics low power modes will only be realized when communications standards start to include power use as a criteria. Power use is a significant part of standards for portable equipment due to the high value of longer battery life and smaller products, but until now I have not seen much interest in standards that effect mains powered equipment.

I recently found that the standard for the next version of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) includes some very prominent low power modes. As outlined in a white paper on ADSL2, first generation ADSL transceivers stay in full power mode regardless of whether they are transmitting or not. The new standard specifies two low power modes (L2 and L3) which use substantially less power. L2 mode is designed as an intermediate mode which the device can cycle in and out of at a rate that depends on the data transfer speed. The device can enter and exit L2 mode instantly without any service interruption or bit errors. L3 mode is a full sleep mode for when there is no data traffic and transition to the more active modes can take as long as three seconds.

In addition to the energy benefits of lower power consumption and reduced heat buildup in telco cabinets, the low power modes reduce cross talk and noise, resulting in more reliable connections.

It seems that most other communicating consumer devices such as set-top boxes and modems should be able to use similar low power mode transitions to reduce power use, if only standards are written to take advantage of them.

New feature in a cordless phone

Panasonic is selling a cordless phone that also serves as the key pad for a home or business security system. It has battery backup, but the Times suggests that it uses the alarm system's battery:

When power lines are down, or during blackouts, the phone system can run on power supplied by the ADT system's backup battery.

[via Gizmodo]

Wind-powered battery charger

Researchers in India have developed a small wind turbine for charging cell phone batteries while the user is traveling.

The device will help mobile phone users charge their phones while travelling in a bus, a car or a train. All they need to do is -- place the turbine against the wind flow. It will use wind energy to move the turbine thereby generating energy

They say it can generate 3-4 Watts, for use in an emergency, but also mention other applications such as radios.

I consider this akin to the research being done to power wireless sensors by scavenging energy from the environment (from vibrations, air currents, etc.). For mobile or wireless applications, the benefit of extending battery life, or eliminating the battery altogether, is so great that it justifies these sort of strategies. It will be interesting to see if these technologies make their way from the mobile world into grid-connected devices.

[via Engadget]

Power from Two USBs

The AverTV is a PC TV tuner that comes with two USB cables. It seems it requires more than the ~500ma available from one USB port, as noted in a review in the Inquirer:

"The USB cable has one end which plugs into the little box, and at the other end two USB connectors. Why two? The manual explains that the box might require more power and if so, you need to plug in both connectors. When we tested this on our notebook, we discovered that's exactly what we needed to do to fire up the system."

So USB is not a limit to the power requirements of portable equipment - just add more connectors!

Another product to combine DC power-supplies

It remains to be seen exactly what this product is, but the press release sounds interesting. Pacusma Company is debuting a new product designed to replace traditional DC power supplies:

"DCEverywhere replaces traditional power supply adapters with universal taps, power strips, in-wall outlets and portable units, while DCSimplify eliminates the need for multiple cords. ... DCEverywhere power supply products include front and side multi-tap surge suppressors, power strips, home entertainment power centers, portable units and in-wall units. DCSimplify offers DC cords for mobile phones, PDA's, laptops, digital cameras, flat panel monitors, toys, chargers, lights and other electronic devices."

I'm guessing it's something like the iGo system we mentioned last week. They say it will be introduced at the Electronic House Expo in Orlando, Florida February 24-26.

(via Power Management DesignLine)

Multi-room DVRs

I don't know if either or both of you are on Parks Assoc email list but yesterday one came out predicting 40 million multi-room DVR setups installed by 2009. Presumably this would have multiple STBs for each installation--one DVR and other boxes for accessing it over some network or the other. The email says:

For Immediate Release
Contact: Elizabeth Parks
Parks Associates
972-490-1113
Email: sales@parksassociates.com


Multiroom DVR: The Entertainment Network Comes Home
Competition will spur cablecos, satellite vendors, and telcos to deploy entertainment networking solutions

Dallas, Texas January 31, 2005 - Cable and satellite television providers will step up deployment of multiroom DVR (digital video recorder) solutions starting in 2005 such that the number of units will exceed 25 million in 2009, according to Parks Associates. Companies will deploy these mass-market entertainment networking solutions in limited numbers in 2005, but penetration will grow to approximately 16 million U.S. households by the end of 2009.

"Just as TiVo Inc. and its ilk introduced 'time-shifting' to the consumption of television content, multiroom DVR solutions will offer 'place-shifting' capabilities," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. "Recorded programming will be available throughout the home as these devices bring new levels of convenience and flexibility to TV use."

In addition to set-top box developers and manufacturers and their cable and satellite partners, home networking chipset developers will gain significantly from the aggressive deployment of multiroom DVR solutions, according to Scherf.

"The home networking industry hopes to expand the notion of connectivity beyond broadband connections and PC-centric content," Scherf said. "This year holds many opportunities for players developing technologies using wireless, powerline, phoneline, and coaxial networking solutions as they are applied to multiroom DVR solutions."

In early 2005, Parks Associates is launching two new primary consumer research studies, Digital Entertainment: Changing Consumer Habits and Mobile Entertainment Platforms & Services, which will focus on how consumers interact with and use digital media, including recorded television programming, digital music, gaming, and personal and self-created content. The studies will focus on the ways in which consumers will seek to "play-shift" their content in both home and mobile ecosystems. For more information about Digital Entertainment: Changing Consumer Habits and Mobile Entertainment Platforms & Services, please contact Parks Associates at 972-490-1113 or sales@parksassociates.com or visit www.parksassociates.com.

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...

TiVo and Netflix

TiVo has recently signed a deal with Netflix to deliver movies on demand. This apears to be the direction that TiVo is moving for the future. In a recent interview , Mike Ramsay, the CEO of TiVo, said of the deal:

"It’s about video rental. Most people these days, at least in this community, are buying music electronically. They’re not buying physical media. And I think the same thing will happen with video. Instead of going to the video store or getting your Netflix in the mail, it’s going to show up in your TiVo. It’s a natural. It doesn’t matter if it takes a day to get there, because Netflix takes a day anyway. People will get used to having a pipeline where content drips through. The transition to electronic distribution will be complete and we won’t be dealing with physical media."

So when is the TiVo on? Not only will it now be recording shows when you are not watching it, but it will be downloading movies in the background at a low rate. Will there be any oportunity to drop into standby, or will improvement in the active mode efficiency be the only path for energy efficiency?

Smoke Alarm Energy Use

A new report on Smoke Alarms from the Australian Greenhouse Office provides some sorely needed base numbers on the energy use of smoke alarms. They measured seven alarms that had an active power range of 0.25 to .5W. Apparent power however was arround 7VA.

Growth of IPGs

According to In-Stat/MDR :

"Interactive Program Guides (IPGs) are becoming the entertainment portal for TV viewers, and worldwide IPG market value is expected to grow to nearly $1 Billion (US) by 2008. IPGs will be the "killer application" for enhanced interactive television services. IPGs will help end-users to find a TV program, movie or sporting event from among listings of thousands of available options, and then make it easy for them to select the program for viewing, tag it with a reminder for later, or even set up a recording to capture the show for time-shifting on a Personal Video Recorder.

Consumer Electronics Products are becoming targets for embedded IPGs that have program listings delivered using broadcast datacasting services, or wireless broadband connection services. Personal Video Recorders will drive this segment."

So will more and more CE devices need to stay in standby active mode in order to download IPG content?

Clockless Microcontroller Technology

An interesting article on a new way of controlling microprocessors that greatly reduces power use. This is of course being used first in portable applications, but there is no reason it couldn't be used elsewhere. Also a nice thermal picture of the two types of processors that is reminiscent of Alan Meier's STB IR picture.

Original article from Philips is here.