Articles and whitepapers

Going Green: Reducing Whole-Home Audio Power Consumption (3/1/2008)

By Rick Kukulies, NuVo Technologies

Stop me if you've heard this before: It is imperative for all responsible citizens of Planet Earth to live more energy-efficient and environmentally conscious lives.

Just because this statement has been repeated ad nauseam doesn't make it any less true or important. And few industries have as little room to be jaded about being 'green' as the electronics industry. Our products are generally understood by consumers to be energy hogs, even though the industry as a whole has taken great strides in this area, particularly through the use of far more energy-efficient digital technology.

When it comes to whole-home audio, which is the speciality of my company, NuVo Technologies, manufacturers have been so busy battling it out over features and functionality, that energy efficiency and environmental friendliness have, understandably, not been major concerns. In fact, they weren't top-of-mind with us either, until we realised just what we had with our Essentia E6G system - and took a look at the rapidly-changing world around us in the process.

The NuVo Technologies Essentia E6G distributed audio system.

Reducing power consumption

Our original intention with this latest version of Essentia was to make it more easily and cost-effectively installed by our dealers. We employed a lighter, thinner digital power supply and digital amplification to get the form factor down to a 1U rack size, to eliminate the noisy fans, and to run cooler. In the process, we also discovered a way to dramatically reduce the system's energy consumption in standby mode. While all of this was going on, our company as a whole was getting more environmentally aware. We wondered if we could become the first whole-home audio system to earn the ENERGY STAR, which is a prestigious U.S. government program that helps Americans save money and protect the environment through use of its qualified energy-efficient products and practices.

The Energy Star logo.

Consider this: ENERGY STAR states that consumer electronics products are responsible for more than 25 percent of household electricity consumption - a number only expected to rise. To illustrate the potential of its program, ENERGY STAR says that if the roughly two TVs, VCR, DVD player and three telephones in the average home were replaced with ENERGY STAR models, over 25 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions would be saved - the equivalent of taking over three million automobiles off the road!

Earning the ENERGY STAR

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a given electronics product must consume less than one watt of power to perform standby functions, while providing the same performance at the same price as less-efficient models. The Essentia E6G tested at 0.8 watts consumption in standby mode, enabling us to become the first whole-home audio system to earn the ENERGY STAR. To accomplish this feat, the amplifier, a possible additional extender unit, and up to 14 keypads in the system, shut down when not in use, while keeping 'one eye open' to snap back into action when a button is pushed.

While we also addressed operating efficiency in this new model, there currently is no certification that gauges it. Nonetheless, programs such as ENERGY STAR are a great benefit to our industry and to society, particularly because the inefficiency of standby mode in electronics is an issue consumers are just now discovering, and they are surprised about it. Having an official ENERGY STAR rating to inform customers that certain electronics products take standby mode energy efficiency seriously, is a powerful tool for installers and manufacturers - one that tells the consumer that they are thinking green.

Beyond the ENERGY STAR

Beyond the ENERGY STAR rating, we did other things with our new product that more and more electronics companies are expected to do in future. The system's interfaces use organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, which means that no backlight is necessary, and so less power is required. It also makes them more attractive than LCD and other traditional displays.

The NuVo Technologies Essentia E6G keypad.

The system's Class D amplifiers consume on average 68.4 kilowatt-hours per year, whereas traditional systems consume almost three times as much power. The digital power supply removes its predecessor's larger eight-pound transformer, which helps reduce the use of numerous metal compounds: aluminium from 1.5 pounds to 0.58 pounds, copper from 2.07 pounds to 0.11 pounds, and steel from 9.58 pounds to 4.0 pounds. The system also meets all RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) requirements, which restrict use of six major harmful substances, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium (chromium xxx or Cr6+), polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), all of which are deemed toxic to the earth and humans. And our new packaging policy dictates removal of all non-compliant materials from our packaging configurations.

Conclusion

Our initial positive experience with energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly engineering and marketing has been a positive one. For our dealers, this product is an opportunity to paint electronics in a new light, and our goal is to aim for the ENERGY STAR across all of our product engineering initiatives.

The best part is, except for the actual product design, none of this need be exclusive to my company. Indeed any company can address these issues with some thoughtfulness and ingenuity. In the end, it's good for our dealers, it's good for end users, and it's good for society. And if it's good in all of these areas, it's good for us too!

(Note from the Editor - The EU has an Energy Star programme, and recently adopted a regulation which requires EU institutions and central Member State government authorities to use Energy Star criteria when purchasing office equipment).

Rick Kukulies is the Chief Technology Officer for NuVo Technologies, manufacturer of whole home audio systems, including the first such system to earn the ENERGY STAR.

www.nuvotechnologies.com