Energy industry experts exchange ideas

May 15, 2015 –

The California Plug Load Research Center (CalPlug) hosted its seventh semiannual workshop on energy-efficient plug loads on May 12 at CALIT2. The center, located at CALIT2, was established in 2011 to improve energy efficiency in the use and design of appliances and consumer electronic devices.

Worldwide, phantom power alone wastes more than 15 GW of power every hour; inefficiencies when devices are in use waste even more. Left unmanaged, these plug loads threaten to derail California’s plans for zero net energy in new homes by 2020. CalPlug focuses on energy efficiency solutions, efficiency evaluations of consumer electronics, standards development, education and public outreach, and user behavior studies.

The CalPlug workshop series was designed to maximize communication of the latest research findings and development, and to address challenges in plug load efficiency for both residential and commercial buildings. The events bring together utilities, manufacturers, advocacy groups, research institutions, and energy policy makers.

Representatives from the Consumer Electronic Association, Southern California Edison, California Energy Commission, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Natural Resources Defense Council, Electric Power Research Institute, Dhaani Systems, Phoenix Energy Technologies and REV Sustainability, along with UC Irvine faculty and researchers, attended the program.

Event moderator and CALIT2 Irvine Director G.P. Li greeted attendees and shared his goals for the workshop – “to have an open format for plug loads information exchange and to accelerate their energy efficiency by all means. Li also said he expected “to create an energy efficiency working group for strong collaborations among players including research centers, manufacturers, service/content providers, utilities and government agencies.”

Presentations were made by 20 industry experts. Each presenter had 15 minutes to report energy efficiency progress and opportunities, as well as address energy demand issues, challenges and possible solutions. Presentations were followed by Q & A sessions.

Morning presentations reported on energy efficiency progress in small network equipment, small data centers and smart power, while the afternoon sessions focused on energy-saving opportunities and challenges, and PC power management and cloud-based solutions.

The day concluded with a networking reception and lab demonstrations by students at CalPlug.

PDFs of the presentations can be viewed below.

CALPLUG WORKSHOP WELCOME AND UPDATE

CALIT2 Irvine Director, G.P. Li welcomes attendees
Presentation: G.P. Li, The Seventh Semiannual Workshop on Energy Efficient Plug Loads

SMALL NETWORK EQUIPMENT

With more devices being connected every day, in both homes and workplaces, how can we further improve energy efficiency with small network equipment to constrain the energy demand?

Speakers: Doug Johnson, Consumer Electronics Association; Michael Green, UCI; and Charles Kim, Southern California Edison
Presentation: Doug Johnson, Consumer Electronics Association, Advancing Energy Efficiency in Small Network Equipment and Networked Devices
Presentation: Michael Green, UC Irvine, Power Reduction Reflections of an IC Designer
Presentation: Charles Kim, Southern California Edison, We are Connected

AUTOMATED DEMAND RESPONSE FOR DATA CENTERS

The CALIT2 Building is currently serving as a test site for ADR in a data center. What are the current findings and how do the results help in managing the dynamic demand of peak loads for utilities? How can consumers partake in improving ADR? This project is being conducted in collaboration with Intel, EPRI, Schneider Electric and Southern California Edison.

Speakers: Chris Battista, CALIT2; Mukesh Khattar, Electric Power Research Institute; Jim Boch, IP Keys; Henry Wong, Intel
Presentation: Chris Battista, CALIT2, Mukesh Khattar, Electric Power Research Institute, Jay Madden, SCE and Henry Wong, Intel, Demand Response in Data Centers

SMART POWER

How can technology be used to make a whole house “smarter” as a unit on the grid? This session presents the efforts of UCI  and UC Davis to develop more efficient practices.

Speakers: Linyi Xia, CalPlug; Keyue Smedley, UC Irvine Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Presentation: Linyi Xia, CalPlug, Smart Power for the Smart Home
Presentation: Keyue Smedley, UC Irvine, Active Power Filter – Enabling Smart Home

Many electric devices use some power even when idle, and that means energy is wasted. New research results, as well as potential future directions to reduce idle power, are presented.

Speakers: Pierre Delforge, Natural Resources Defense Council; Joy Pixley, CalPlug; Sergio Gago, CalPlug
Presentation: Joy Pixley, CalPlug, Computer Power Management in Practice A Case Study of Office Desktops
Presentation: Sergio Gago, CalPlug, Modeling Entertainment Devices Research on Progress
Presentation: Pierre Delforge, Natural Resources Defense Council, Home Idle Load

In light of recent regulatory proceedings, CalPlug is taking a fresh look at perspectives and presentations to offer opportunities for further discussion on this important topic, including duty cycles, idle power, finding further energy savings in computers, etc.

Speakers: Gabriele Peterschmidt, Hewlett-Packard: Shahid Sheikh, Intel; Kristen Driskell, California Energy Commission; and Bach Tsan, Southern California Edison
Presentation: Gabriele Peterschmidt, Hewlett-Packard and
Shahid Sheikh, Intel,Computers Energy Efficiency – the California Debate Industry Perspective
Presentation: Kristen Driskell, California Energy Commission, Computers Rulemaking

Speakers: Victoria Mouroulis, REV Sustainability; Keith Gipson, Phoenix Energy Technologies; and Shankar Mukherjee, Dhaani Systems
Presentation: Victoria Mouroulis, REV Sustainability, Accelerating Sustainability From the Inside Out
Presentation: Keith Gipson, Phoenix Energy Technologies, Cloud-base EEM
Presentation: Shankar Mukherjee, Dhaani Systems, IT Energy Management Platform for 21st Century Work Environment