I realized that flying from California to India could be an adventure. But not long after claiming my luggage, I found that the “real” adventure began with the taxi ride from the Delhi airport to my hotel. While I should have been thinking about the upcoming international standby energy conference, my only thought was whether my life insurance payments were current. As hair-raising and thrilling as any 3D video game (complete with racing cars and screaming horns), I learned the first rule of driving in New Delhi - there’s no limit to the number of vehicles that can occupy the same space normally reserved for one vehicle in other parts of the world.

With this introduction to India, it was only natural that the 2-day conference I attended earlier this month would turn out to be an exciting one, full of new ideas and updates on standby energy activity around the world. The conference was well attended, with over 90 national and 30 international delegates, providing a great platform for interaction between efficiency experts, government and industry. Over the next few blogs, I’ll share some interesting information that was presented. If you have any questions, just ask them in the area for comments after the blog.

India Focuses on Standby Energy Loss

India turned out to be an excellent choice to host the event. Its Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) was created in 2001 “to reduce the energy intensity of the economy”. Less than 50% of the country’s households have access to electricity, but the goal is to connect all (!) by 2012, equating to an additional 100,000 megawatts of power! It’s also projected that India’s urban population will grow by 85 million people over the next 10 years, adding more “middle class” consumers wanting more electronic products. A potential energy crisis could be a real possibility.

To help address the problem, the BEE began an energy efficiency labeling program in 2006 with a goal of reducing standby energy consumption by ~3000 megawatts. Products they are currently labeling for standby power loss include refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and fluorescent lamps. Indian consumers can now make an intelligent choice and buy the most efficient products.

The BEE now have their standby power efficiency sights set on the real “gold” – consumer electronic products – specifically, energy-hungry televisions and set-top boxes. The good news for India is that other efficiency agencies around the world have already studied the data and drafted efficiency specs for these products, so the BEE doesn’t have to start from zero. The even better news for the rest of the world is that the BEE is wasting no time in adapting the data and developing standards for an energy efficient India!

Coming up next – Korea’s Energy Boy Gets Some Muscle!

Granted, desktop computers have traveled a long way down the green highway over the last few years, thanks to efficiency programs like 80 Plus and ENERGY STAR’s 2007 computer efficiency spec. Those programs focus on power supply efficiency, standby (off) power consumption and power management (i.e. putting your computer into sleep mode after a certain period of inactivity). But what about computer efficiency when the computer’s wide awake?

Recent audits of office buildings have shown that many computers aren’t allowed to go into sleep mode and just sit around idling. At a recent efficiency meeting I attended, Ecos Consulting stated that computers actually only spend 3% to 6% of their time actively processing tasks. About 95% of their total energy is consumed while they are awake in active/idle mode, but most of that operating time is in idle mode, waiting for user input. Armed with this knowledge, Ecos with a little help from their friends – the CEC,Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Intel, AMD, and Via Technologies - embarked on a project to integrate and test best of class office-grade desk top computers with very low energy consumption in active and idle mode (think desktop form factor with laptop energy efficiency). 

Using the most efficient desktop computer platforms, the most commercially efficient components (fans, hard drives) and “correctly-sized” 80 PLUS power supplies, they developed two classes of systems - “market-ready” (within $50 retail price of currently available computers) and “ultimate efficiency” (best efficiency without regard to cost).

Ecos published their results in February and the results are an eye-opener! (See the graphic below - used with permission from Ecos Consulting - for a brief description of the Ecos-developed machines). If all US businesses purchased computers with performance equal to Ecos’ “market-ready” machine, they would save 12.8 B kWh, doing away with the need for 2 typical coal-fired power plants and  reducing CO2 emissions by 8.6 M tons.

Even more important was the optimism of the two major computer platform developers who were present at the meeting about future platforms offering dramatic reductions in “idling” power consumption.  Initially, these uber-green machines will probably cost more, but like most consumer products, once they become the norm, the price adders should disappear.

For more information on the Ecos project, download their 4-page summary at: http://www.efficientproducts.org/reports/computers/EfficientComputer_Brochure_FINAL.pdf

Additional reports will be filed at http://www.EfficientProducts.org/computers .   

Raleigh, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Austin, Texas: what do these cities have in common? Well, they’re all engaged in ambitious programs aimed at replacing municipal infrastructure lighting with LED systems. All participate in the LED City project, which aims “to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting technology across the full range of municipal infrastructure.”

Raleigh’s programs began in early 2007. A trial installation in a parking garage, homely but essential places in cities, found that overall satisfaction with the parking facility doubled with the installation of the LED lighting.

Austin, which recently announced its participation in the LED City Project, has test installations of LED fixtures in various city locations: parking garage, streetlights, municipal marquee, even a water fountain. This isn’t Austin’s first foray into LED lighting. The city replaced all traffic and pedestrian signal were replaced with LEDs in 2004.

Ann Arbor, Michigan may have the most ambitious project, which is to become the first U.S. city to convert 100 percent of its downtown streetlights to LED technology. It also installed more than 100,000 LEDs in downtown for this last holiday season.

Of course, all these cities expect to reap significant savings in energy costs, and other cities will no doubt be watching them closely to see if these predictions come true.

You may have noticed your electricity bill taking a bigger bite out of your paycheck. It’s not the kids leaving more lights on around the house; recent studies show that our newest must-have “electronic appliance”—a big screen TV—uses as much energy as another must-have home appliance, namely the refrigerator! ENERGY STAR wants to put big screen TVs on a power diet with their latest TV efficiency specification, so you won’t have to start looking for a second job to pay the utility bill.

Focusing on Active and Standby Modes - Not on Technology

The last ENERGY STAR TV efficiency spec (version 2.2) became effective almost 6 years ago, when less energy hungry CRT TVs were in the majority. It focused only on standby energy consumption. The new spec, version 3 (which ENERGY STAR has been working on for over 2 years), contains both on-mode and standby power consumption limits and is extraordinary in the sense that it is technology neutral. So, it doesn’t matter if the TV display is CRT, plasma, LCD, projection, or whatever new technology may amaze us at future CES shows, it has to meet this level of energy efficiency if it wants to sport the ENERGY STAR logo. The maximum standby power consumption stays at 1 W while the new on-mode power levels are calculated using the following table:

Note: A is the viewable screen area of the TV – display width x display height.Based on the above, an ENERGY STAR 42-inch TV can consume no more than 208 W when you’re watching CSI or The Simpsons, a far cry from some sets in the test data that required over 300 W!

The test method is based on a new version of the international standard, IEC 62087 (Ed 2), currently in committee review but expected to pass without significant changes.

Version 3 specs become effective November 1, 2008, and it couldn’t happen at a better time. As the federally mandated cut-off date for analog TV broadcasting quickly approaches (February 2009), it’s expected that later this year, many consumers will replace their older analog tuner TVs with newer digital ones. When they do, they’ll be enjoying bigger pictures while using less energy than the previous year’s models.

For more info on the spec, switch the channel over to the ENERGY STAR website.

Buried in Section 655 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, there are prizes! “Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prizes,” to be specific. The U.S. Government is establishing criteria for LED lighting prizes and the awards that will accompany them–not the cheap metal rings or plastic animals once found in Cracker Jack boxes, but substantial amounts of money.

The 60-WATT INCANDESCENT REPLACEMENT LAMP PRIZE goes to an entrant that produces a solid-state light package simultaneously capable of the following:

• Produces a luminous flux greater than 900 lumens
• Consumes less than or equal to 10 watts with a luminous flux greater than 900 lumens
• Has an efficiency of 90 lumens/watt
• Fits within the maximum dimensions of an A19 bulb
• Fits into a standard single contact medium screw socket
• Can be mass produced

The HALOGEN REPLACEMENT LAMP PRIZE goes to an LED lighting package that

• Produces a luminous flux greater than or equal to 1,350 lumens
• Consumes less than or equal to 11 watts
• Has an efficiency greater than 123 lumens per watt
• Fits within the maximum dimensions of a PAR 38 halogen lamp
• Can be mass produced

Note: for the 60 watt and halogen replacement prizes, these are extracts from the full lists of criteria, which are detailed and go from (A) to (J) in the the full text of the act. If you’re an interested party, you must read the full criteria.

Finally there’s the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY LAMP PRIZE. Here are the full criteria for the award, which goes to the LED lighting package that

• Produces a light output greater than 1,200 lumens
• Has an efficiency greater than 150 lumens per watt
• Has a color rendering index greater than 90
• Has a color coordinate temperature between 2,800 and 3,000 degrees Kelvin
• Has a lifetime exceeding 25,000 hours

And the awards?

• For the 60-Watt Incandescent Replacement Lamp Prize, $10,000,000
• For the PAR Type 38 Halogen Replacement Lamp Prize, $5,000,000
• For the Twenty-First Century Lamp Prize, $5,000,000

The Federal Government also pledges to replace 60 watt incandescents and PAR Type Halogen lamps with the LED packages described in the awards, and pledges to do so as soon as practicable but no later than five years of awarding the prize.

Fairly obviously, winning one of these prizes will also provide the designer with more than immediate rewards. Also, meeting these criteria will represent a major step forward in the development of LED lighting and its widespread entry into the market.

Find out more about EISA 2007.

Even late in the year, when the nights are cold and the days cloudy, Ispra, Italy is a pleasant place to spend a few days. That’s where I found myself at the end of November, attending the European Commission’s Code of Conduct (CoC) working group meeting on Energy Consumption of External Power Supplies (EPS). The meeting’s goal was to update the current CoC, adopted in 2004. If the updates (Version 3 - Draft) are confirmed by the end of January, they will take effect on January 1, 2009.

While the Code of Conduct is voluntary, it’s an important efficiency document in Europe, and the list of companies that have signed up is a veritable Who’s Who of consumer electronics manufacturers. The original version addressed no-load consumption only, but - in an attempt to harmonize EPS specifications worldwide - the CoC’s current EPS document includes ENERGY STAR’s active-mode efficiency specs. By the end of the meeting, there was general agreement that the new Code of Conduct EPS spec should align as much as possible with ENERGY STAR’s newly proposed Version 2.0 spec.

The intent of aligning the two specifications is to maintain harmony in energy efficiency specification communities and make life easier for power supply manufacturers around the world. You can find more information, including minutes from the meeting, on the EU Code of Conduct on Efficiency of External Power Supplies website.

Ah, California, the birthplace of new ideas and trends that later spread across the rest of the country. And when it comes to improving the energy efficiency of consumer products, the California Energy Commission (CEC) lives up to expectations. After tackling the problem of external power supply energy waste with their mandatory active-mode efficiency/no-load power consumption standard in 2007, the commission is moving on to the next group of energy wasters, Battery Charging Systems (BCS) and General Purpose Lighting.

Pursuing this aim, the CEC Efficiency Committee held a stakeholder workshop on January 15, 2008 to obtain input from industry and the general public on amending the state’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations (Title 20). The landscape has changed a little since the early 2000s, when the CEC began their EPS standards work, the most significant feature being the US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007), signed by President Bush in December, 2007. EISA 2007 includes standards for general purpose lighting, and while it also mentions BCS, it doesn’t include specific standards at this time. The significance regarding the CEC is that EISA 2007 standards pre-empt any state standards for the same products. Despite this, the CEC plans to continue forward on both fronts.

With lighting, there are a number of lighting exclusions (i.e., 3-way and vibration service light bulbs) that the CEC may want to include in their standard. Even more important, the commission is under the direction of California Assembly Bill 1109, which calls for the CEC to adopt minimum energy efficiency standards for all general purpose lights to reduce average statewide electrical energy consumption. For indoor residential lighting, the target to hit is a 50% reduction from 2007 levels by 2018. It’s unclear whether EISA 2007 standards alone can meet the target.

The CEC has been studying BCS for some time and recently released a test method for efficiency measurements. Additional standard discussions will take place in future stakeholder meetings. The hope is to have a January, 2010 standard effective date.

If you’d like to provide input into California’s (and if history repeats itself, the rest of the US) standards, now’s the time to get involved. I’ll be looking for you at the next stakeholder meeting in Sacramento!

Find out more about the CEC Efficiency Committee Workshop (including presentations from the meeting).

* With apologies to Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Have you ever wanted to get a sense of how much energy you could save by changing that old CRT out for an LCD monitor, or a what a dual-core CPU might do to your electric bill? Do you sometimes wonder about the amount of energy you’re using while surfing the web vs., say, trying to find the next prime number? If you do, then I’ve found just the tool for you.

Dell has introduced an online Energy Calculator that let’s you compare the energy usage of various types of desktop systems, and more. It supports side-by-side system configuration comparisons to see how much you could save down the road by making different choices now. It even lets you input your local electric rate and specify how much of your usage is casual vs. compute-intensive in order to see how the energy savings translate into dollars in your pocket.

Of course, all of the systems you can compare are Dell’s, but they’re similar enough to others to give you some idea of how much your system configuration and utilization can save you … or cost you.

Lastly, for those of you that are concerned more about servers than desktops, they have a similar tool for estimating the energy usage of an entire room full of gear. Check out the Dell PowerEdge Energy Smart Server Calculator, then let me know what you find out.

Not a dance but the shiny lighted thing they drop to signify the arrival of the new year. It’s now made up entirely of LED lights– 9,576 of them.

Other factoids about the ball include:

• Red, green, blue, and white LEDs will create a broad range of color options “far more vibrant and saturated than in the prior year.”
• The average rated life is 50,000 hours, compared with 1000 hours for the older technology.
• The LEDs consume 20 W to deliver the same lumen output as last year’s 60-watt halogen lamps.
• The entire Times Square Ball will be lit on the same amount of electricity that it takes to power 10 toasters, or 3 clothes dryers

I’m particularly delighted by the ball/toaster/clothes dryer equivalence.

Here is The Ball, in its glory:

Happy New Year to all, and to all a green one!

At the junction of energy efficiency and power supply design, LED lighting is one of the hottest topics designers need to be aware of. To help you do so, here is a list of upcoming conferences exploring LED lighting in many forms.

A conference and exhibition on high-brightness LEDs, Strategies in Light takes place in Santa Clara, CA February 11-13, 2008. It advertises itself as “the kickoff event of the year for the HB LED industry” and “the premier annual forum for presenting current commercial developments in high-brightness LED applications.”

Find out more about Strategies in Light

LED Event 2008

Held February 12 and 13, 2008 at the Evoluon Conference Center in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, LED Event 2008 focuses on opportunities in LED techniques and solutions with particular attention to the next generation of high power LEDs. It will adjoin the Photonics Conference and Photovoltaics Conference 2008, and attendees and sponsors of LED Event 2008 will have free access to these conferences.

Find out more about LED Event 2008.

LED CHINA takes place in Guangzhou, China, at the China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex, from March 4-6, 2008. It offers an international platform for business communication and cooperation. Held concurrently with Sign China and Neon Show, it will occupy more than 10,000 square meters with around 450 booths.

Read about LED China in English and in Chinese.

There are more conferences to come in the second quarter of 2008, and I will announce them at a later date.

If you know of other LED-related events, tell us. And if you’ve attended any of these conferences, tell us what you think. Do these conferences serve your needs?