Emerging Solutions to the Standby Power Problem

Publication Type
Conference Proceedings
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Abstract

Despite technical advances in efficiency, devices in standby continue to consume a
significant amount of energy. Finding practical, cost-effective reductions is difficult. While the
power consumption per unit has fallen, the number of units continuously drawing power
continues to grow.
This work investigates a family of technologies that offers a means of greatly reducing
standby consumption in many types of electrical products. The underlying principle involves
producing a wake-up signal just before service is needed. The wake-up signal activates a footer
switch, which connects the device to the power supply. This work studies and prototypes several
methods of generating the wake-up signal. The first generates a wake-up signal from harvested
light energy and is applicable to remote-controlled devices with a line of sight activation, such as set-top boxes, ceiling fans, and motorized curtains. The second method uses an RF-based wake-up signal to activate a wake-up radio and is applicable to any wireless products. No single technology will address all standby power situations; however, these emerging solutions appear to have broad applicability to save standby energy in miscellaneous loads.

Conference Name
ACEEE 2018 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Year of Conference
2018
Conference Location
Pacific Grove, CA
Organizations
Research Areas
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