Chip aims to cut household energy waste

An intelligent computer chip designed to control electricity consumption could be the answer to a current chronic energy wastage from household appliances.

The chip, designed at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology, promises to dramatically reduce the consumption of appliances on standby and warn users when malfunctioning devices use too much power.

Energy watchdogs have welcomed the innovation that cuts the amount of electricity needed to power an appliance on standby from up to 40 watts to just 0.3 watts. Devices on standby are calculated to account for some ten per cent of the total electricity consumption of a typical household.

The designer, Ludger Hovestadt, told swissinfo that the so-called dSID Chip could save up to eight per cent of standby wastage and a further 20 per cent associated with inefficient appliances such as kettles that have become chalked up.

“The chips can communicate along normal power lines so they act like a team. The system can control power consumption and acts as a meter, telling users when an appliance is using more electricity than usual,” said the professor.

“The chip is able to switch off any device that is not being used and to take over standby functionality of, for instance, a remote control using a fraction of the power. If the stereo is playing and the doorbell or telephone rings, the music will automatically go down.

Swissinfo