I recently read a story on Green Inc. on researchers who are working on the Bionic Energy Harvester, a knee brace that generates power from walking. In the article, the author points out that even though only a small percentage of young people would have use for the device, those users would be excited to show people they were using it. Like the Macarena and Rubik's Cube that came before it, energy harvesting is becoming cool. Take the Toyota Prius for example, it wasn't built to be cool...but it is.
Reducing standby power is also a trend I'm seeing more and more of. I recently conducted my own study using a Kill A Watt and realized my plasma TV adds an average of $7 on my monthly utility bill - when it's OFF! Imagine calculating the cost for standby power on all of your home appliances.
There are tons of devices such as green power strips out on the market to decrease standby power. The green power strips enable your appliances to be in green mode by shutting off wasted power. Additionally, OEMs are beginning to focus on standby power for appliances like washing machines to TVs.
TI's MSP430 microcontroller was designed from day one for ultra low power. In standby mode, the tiny microcontroller consumes close to zero current (~0.0000009 Watts). In many cases, the MSP430 can increase battery life longer than the life of the product so you will replace or throw away the device before you have to change its batteries. Larger devices like TVs can even use these tiny microcontrollers in a supervisory role to shut down everything in the system when you're not using them.
In the not too distant future, building smart appliances such as washers and dryers and TVs to turn off on their own will help us conserve energy. Eventually, appliances in your home like your washer will be smart enough to turn off when demand for power is high on the grid and turn on when the demand is low, saving energy and costs.
Adrian Valenzuela
MSP430 MCU Marketing Manager
Migrated from tinergy.net and posted by TI communicators who follow the ever evolving world of power and energy. The team maintained tinergy.net and blogged about TI’s new innovation announcements and power activities.
