The energy consumption of standby products, such as mobile phone chargers, is a chronic waste that could be virtually eliminated by a device with a 90 per cent reduction potential. The wide-scale manufacturing of such a product has come a step nearer realisation with news that The Carbon Trust has become a $4 million equity stake investor in CamSemi, a company focused on improving the energy efficiency of consumer electronics products.
Currently, research by the Energy Saving Trust suggests that consumer electronic equipment will be responsible for 45 per cent of household energy consumption by 2020, equivalent to the output of 14 power stations. The new funding will support CamSemi’s commercialisation of products that can dramatically reduce the energy consumption of electronic equipment in operating and standby modes.
Cambridge-based CamSemi is developing sophisticated integrated circuits (ICs) that will allow manufacturers to introduce highly cost-efficient mains-connected converters and battery chargers that are smaller, cheaper and more power efficient. They have the potential to deliver a 10-fold improvement in standby energy efficiency and reduce operating mode losses by a factor of three.
Adam Workman, partner at Carbon Trust Investments said: “Standby power is an important issue for consumer electronic equipment manufacturers owing to both rising energy costs and the emergence of green consumers who are concerned about their carbon footprint.
“There are also several pieces of impending legislation that will force manufacturers to reduce energy consumption when their products are in standby mode. The Carbon Trust is delighted to be joining at this investment round as we believe that CamSemi has one of the few technologies in development with the potential to really make a difference in this area.”
David Baillie, CEO at CamSemi said:“Our first products are already available to the worldwide market and shipping in volume. The C2470 family of controllers allows manufacturers for the first time to replace bulky, low cost and power-hungry linear supplies with a simple, cost competitive and much more energy efficient approach.
“Linear power supplies typically operate with power conversion efficiencies of 50 per cent or even less and standby consumptions of 1W. However, products based on CamSemi’s C2470 controllers offer very significant improvements with figures of around 85 per cent and 100mW respectively. The products are also smaller and lighter, which saves on transportation costs plus they require far less raw materials to manufacture them and they are easier to recycle too.”
The new funding will help CamSemi support its ongoing product development programmes, continue to build its sales and marketing infrastructure and provide the working capital to fuel the demand-led expansion in the company’s business. The Carbon Trust is a private company, set up by government in response to the threat of climate change. Its mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy, by working with business and the public sector to develop commercial low carbon technologies and help organisations reduce their carbon emissions.
