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Don't bother designing green anymore?

Catwell
Beside saving power consumption in a design, does anyone "think green" in their designs whatsoever?

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but usually making a green product comes after I've finished the concept. Then I just crowbar as much "green" in as I can into the system without jeopardizing functionality. Perhaps I should start with the goal of protecting the environment, and build around that idea.
 
Often I am stuck between deadlines and virtues. At one moment, I've been asked to explain why I am off schedule. And another moment I have to sit through a department head lecture about his latest whim to "design green," and explain why I haven't done that either.
 
A new environmental design methodology I can read about anywhere?
 
C
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    Hi Cabe,

     

    As a designer of switch mode power supplies i'm in the frontline of thing about ''green''. Green in our business means: boosting efficiency as high as possible, schrink standby power to as low as possible and simulating the power supply as an perfect resistor, by using a power factor corrector at the input stage. This last one also benefits the cashflow of the energy-supplier :-)

     

    As far as looking to my designs i am able to deliver a 5W converter which has 0.25W losses when using at no load. In practice this will mean that the application has less than 500mW input losses at 250mW output power (250mW to keep a standby module alive). On the upper range in can deliver 500W peak power (350W nomimal) at an efficiency close to 90%.

     

    These figures seem to be state-of-the-art and ''green'' but when you look at an application you must realize that the effiency of a application is close to 0% ! For example a TV will generate light an sound and an amplifier/speaker generates sound. Sound and light are really low power ouputs! ;-)

     

    To give you a nice example of wasting power: A class AB amplifier can easily dissipate 50W in it's output stage at a delivered output power (to the speaker) of 1W. (the speaker itself will waste much of this energy in it's coil, and little is left to be converted into sound). Nowadays there are Class D amplifiers which are in general 'switch mode power supplier'-like circuits which have a very high efficiency. I think that Class D should be the standard and the other energy-wasters should be banned by law!

     

    So the summarize. Yes, it is good to think green but it is almost useless as not everyone has to same intention/approach. The end-customer is responsible for the effective use of the device (turning off a TV when not used, things like that). I really think that goverments should make extra laws for pushing the industry to think green. For example, if a device is not green designed there should be an extra environment-tax which adds to the salesprice (this will make the competitor-position worse and is therefore self-regulating). 

     

    I'm getting interested in alternative energy sources and smart grids. That is; generating (or converting energy) from wind, water, sun and converting this to grid voltage. If you generate more than you need for yourself you deliver the energy to the grid (and you get paid for the energy!) In the very near future i will start to design a grid converter with possibly a photo-voltaic front end. This converter will make maximum power tracking of the solar panel for highest efficiency.

     

    Best regards,

     

    Enrico Migchels

    Power conversion design engineer

    Heliox B.V.

    Best, The Netherlands

    www.heliox.nl

  • 0 in reply to enrico.migchels

    Whoa  --  At least in the UK for over 1/2 the year all electronic stuff is 100% efficient. I.e. any "wasted" power is dumped into the room, where the central heating has thus to work less hard. Same goes for those old and good light bulbs.

     

    And wait, since when was class D the most efficient audio amplifer topology? See eg http://www.audiumsemi.com/

     

    And while we are at it - your proposed "non-green" tax - well how much energy do you think will be wasted by the quango setup to administer that one?

     

    Plus, yes one can get paid for putting energy back into the grid, but is that green? The cost is subsidised and is not a real price, if it were real maybe it would be uneconomic for you to install power generating plant at home.

     

    R

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  • 0 in reply to enrico.migchels

    Whoa  --  At least in the UK for over 1/2 the year all electronic stuff is 100% efficient. I.e. any "wasted" power is dumped into the room, where the central heating has thus to work less hard. Same goes for those old and good light bulbs.

     

    And wait, since when was class D the most efficient audio amplifer topology? See eg http://www.audiumsemi.com/

     

    And while we are at it - your proposed "non-green" tax - well how much energy do you think will be wasted by the quango setup to administer that one?

     

    Plus, yes one can get paid for putting energy back into the grid, but is that green? The cost is subsidised and is not a real price, if it were real maybe it would be uneconomic for you to install power generating plant at home.

     

    R

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