Energy Harvesting designs are used to generate, distribute and control energy from non-traditional sources (via solar power, wind power and other energy harvesting techniques), provide efficient power from traditional sources using advanced power control techniques and provide critical non-stop power to key systems. In the Energy Generation sector Power and Energy Management is key. Moving into the Energy Distribution sector, Efficient Power Management, Ethernet Connectivity and Optical Networking play a role.
Energy Efficient Ethernet traffic is eventually consolidated and aggregated at the remote servers or server farms that provide Smart Grid storage and computation. Supplying efficient power to these large installations can provide one of the largest overall power savings. Power supplies with high efficiency can be key elements in the Smart Grid system.
Energy Efficient Ethernet traffic can originate in the connected home where multiple 10/100 Ethernet connections need to be consolidated prior to communication with the Wide Area Network (WAN) or over wireless networks. Energy efficient multi-port Gateways can be used to consolidate and control traffic in the Smart Home with a minimum of power and increased efficiency. Ethernet switch, PHY and Controllers are also key elements in providing the front-end efficient Ethernet connectivity to the Smart Grid.
High speed optical networks are responsible for connecting Energy Efficient Ethernet devices to the wider area for control and management of power and services. Optical Networking devices- modules, transceivers and framers- are used in the high-bandwidth segments of the wider area network.
Power/Energy Management systems in the Smart Grid use power efficiently, provide non-stop power to critical systems and generate power using multi-source energy harvesting techniques.