A Shower with a Low Power Mode

Toilets were the first plumbing fixture I'm aware of that can have standby power use (article, picture). Now, a new shower control from Kohler not only can have up to eight shower heads, but it also has a color touch screen and who knows what sort standby power.

New TI Power Controler Chip

TI has released a new chip that provides power supplies with >88% efficiency while at the same time keeping no-load power below half a watt. It also disables the power factor correction stage in standby operation which allows large power supplies with PFC to meet low standby requirements.

Mobile PV for battery charging

This seems to be a good use for PV, integrated into backpacks and gear bags for charging batteries of electronic devices while away from the grid. This could impact the consumption of AC-powered battery chargers if the batteries need to be charged less often from the AC outlet. Would a stationary version of this charger, integrated into buildings, make sense?

Fiber to the home

In some parts of the country, phone companies are installing fiber optic cables to homes and businesses to replace the copper the rest of us have. These carry voice and data. This requires an interface box and a battery backup system to ensure that the phone doesn't go away when the power does. A picture of one can be found at:


http://fiosblog.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_fiosblog_archive.html

It isn't clear that FIOS actually stands for anything.
Verizon (who uses the FIOS moniker) also supplies a wired or wireless router, and of course you need to use them as your ISP. Apparently the battery backup unit which supplies power to the interface uses 11 W constantly. Since this doesn't replace a router, this is all new consumption compared to DSL or cable broadbanc (though FIOS gives higher data rates and the battery backup).

3D display

19" diagonal, 20 layer deep, 3D display.

http://www.lightspacetech.com/

nameplate power is 830 W. Uses a DLP projector and
flat panels that go opaque in sequence to catch the projection.
Not a low power issue, but interesting nonetheless.

Laptop bag goes electronic

APC now has a PowerReady line of laptop luggage that includes the external power adapter. It's not clear whether the adapter is integrated into the bag or just a special holder for their standard TravelPower adapter. The interesting point is that it has USB ports to charge other electronic devices such as cell phones and PDAs (each USB adapter is made for a specific device).

One question I have is whether these "all in one" power supplies actually save energy (either because the power supply is more efficient or reducing the number of plugged-in power adapters). At any rate, this is another example of USB as a de facto standard for low-voltage DC power distribution.

Home Gateway Initiative

It looks like the Europeans have started an organization (Home Gateway Initiative) to develop standard specs for "Home Gateways." This is how they define a home gateway:

The home gateway is a high tech device ensuring continuity between the home network(s) and the in home connected devices and the external world represented by a wide area network (WAN).

The device that initially offered broadband access was a basic modem and has evolved to a wireless enabled modem router to meet the demand of consumers. But this equipment is not enough to meet the next generation of services, thus there is a need of a more capable device that we call “home gateway”. The home gateway is the device offering broadband connectivity to the home and delivering services to the home environment and the different devices & interfaces composing it.

Requirements
The next generation of services has created the new requirements for the home gateway to fulfill:

* Providing a remote management service for the home gateway & the devices beyond,
* Allowing the right device or application to connect to the right service platform with the right service class / Quality of Service,
* Recognizing and potentially uniting devices capabilities
* Playing a role in the local network to federate device capabilities and offer customers a better “integrated home environment”.

These requirements imply a device that is constantly monitoring the home network, which has obvious energy implications, both for the gateway itself and possibly for the other networked devices.

lopomo

lopomo

From Today's NYT Circuits section:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/12/technology/circuits/12fridge.html
The connections are not digital so that low power consumption
can be low--just the remote and power button. I think that having
USB and being able to put up a computer screen are logical next
steps.
--Bruce


Now You Can Raid the TV During the Commercials

By MICHEL MARRIOTT

Published: May 12, 2005

Some 50 years after the TV dinner was introduced to American homes, LG Electronics USA has created the TV Refrigerator. But it is more than something to raid while watching television.

This $3,150 refrigerator is the television.

The refrigerator, available from major retailers like Best Buy and P. C. Richard, has a 13.1-inch liquid-crystal display built into the right door (opposite a water and ice dispenser in the left door). LG designers say the appliance saves counter space.

The television includes an FM radio tuner and 1.5-watt stereo speakers, is cable- and satellite-ready (a coaxial port is built into the right door hinge) and provides inputs for a DVD player or VCR on the side of the door. The refrigerator, which is 68 inches tall and weighs 335 pounds, comes with a wireless remote control.

And fear not for your ice cream: a special cooling system prevents heat generated by the television from affecting the environs of the refrigerator's sealed interior.

Pittsburgh Post article about standby power

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a recent article about standby power, which had prominent quotes from Alan and Bruce. An interesting product they mention is an "intelligent" surge protector from OneClickPower, a UK company that is

"not, however, scare mongering beardy weirdoes on an environmental crusade, but committed and informed futurists who believe that commerce, profit and pleasure need not have consequences for the earth's natural resources, or well being."

The intelligence of the surge protector is actually quite simple. It has one uncontrolled outlet that the PC plugs into; when the power draw from that outlet drops below a certain level, it shuts off power to all the other outlets as well (which could have other computer peripherals or electronics plugged into them). I saw a similar power strip prototype from someone at Novem at the Berkeley standby power workshop a couple of years ago. In that case, the control signal came from a USB cable plugged into the PC's USB port, so when the USB bus loses power, the power strip shuts off power to all its outlets.


The idea of using the PC to control the power to its peripherals suggests the opportunity for further integration of power supply and management within the PC "ecosystem." ACPI was supposed to provide some of this integration, but in practice it seems not to be used much. Powering peripherals from the computer's power supply can be accomplished with USB, but the allowable power levels are too low for most devices (at least with standard USB; maybe the new revisions will help expand this opportunity). I think it would be worth looking at the savings potential from this integration, to see if further work here is warranted.

More PoE Potential

We have discussed PoE here before (PoE Growing Fast). While looking for information about the PoE-powered PC, I found an article from 2003 on the potential of PoE. In it Alan Stevens writes about PoE's potential for eliminating external power supplies. Although he is skeptical about PoE's ability to power lap tops, it now appears that PoE Plus may make this possible in the future.

PoE-powered PC

Just saw this product announcement for a PC powered by
Power over Ethernet. They say it draws 12 W (including the monitor!).

Are the losses in the network switch and ethernet cable
less than the losses in a power supply for an AC-powered PC?
Probably not, but there's a big advantage in active power.

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)