Tech’s little green secret
Dr. Sehat Sutardja is Chairman and CEO of Marvell Semiconductor. The opinions expressed are his own.
While the world eagerly searches for new ways to conserve energy, a 25-year old solution that instantly cuts in half the energy consumption of most modern electronic products remains largely ignored.
The Obama Administration has promised to explore all avenues to improve America’s energy conservation. The spectrum of hoped-for solutions ranges from the mundane-(automobile CAFE standards) to the magical (the long-hoped-for cold fusion). What almost all of these solutions have in common is that they are hugely expensive and will take years – maybe even generations – to implement.
Meanwhile, literally tomorrow the electronics industry could begin shipping a technology introduced in the early 80′s that now would add less than one dollar to the cost of most electronic devices – TV set, computer, set top box, BlueRay player, printer, DSL router, etc- and yet could reduce their net energy consumption in half. That technology, called PFC (power factor correction), replaces the traditional AC adapter, and “fools” the device into using electrical current more efficiently. By reducing the energy typically lost through copper wires, the power savings from PFC can be spectacular: up to 50 percent. Multiply this by the massive number of electronic devices used around the world today and the benefits become epic.
So why, in its quest to be appear fashionably green, hasn’t the consumer electronics industry rushed to voluntarily adopt power factor correction? The answer, regrettably, ranges from ignorance to indifference.
There is also the matter of legacy. When first invented, PFCs were comparatively costly to produce – estimated to about $50 in the early 80′s. That resulted in a retail price point that is just too high for most consumers. And, it goes without saying, a quarter-century ago we neither had the urgency nor the will to solve the world energy consumption problem. But the world has changed. Not only has power conservation become paramount, but Moore’s Law has had its effect into power devices as well: today, an average PFC AC adapter can be made for about $1 -or less-no more than a non-PFC AC adapter. And, for low power applications such as the billion or more cellphone battery chargers produced each year, PFC could be implemented for pennies..
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, when you consider computers, set-top boxes, video game players, flat-screen TVs, and an array of household appliances, there are more than 10 billion electronics devices worldwide that could benefit from the use of PFCs, more than 2.5 billion of them in the US alone. It is estimated that if PFCs were widely adopted in the US they would save nearly $3 billion in energy costs annually and reduce about 24 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
We shouldn’t be so quick in discounting the idea of power factor correction. This is a common practice in the power industry. The idea of correct power factor on a household level, although may not be significant on a stand along case, it will be very significant if millions of households can improve their power factor by just a few percent.
When it comes to energy conservation, public education is the most effective solution. The majority of us can probably reduce our energy consumption eaily by 3-5% through simple things like taking the public transit; turning off unnecessary lightings; lowering the heat in the winter; using fans instead of air conditioners in the summer; buying energy efficiency cars, etc. Imagine if we all put in our effort. 3% for each household is insignificant, but 3% for the whole country is a completely different stroy.