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January 31, 2012
Hot tech in Las Vegas: Consumer Electronics Show
Posted by Tony Mauro
Gizmo junkies love the new year, because it's time for the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. And I've hunted down a few cool products announced at CES that have energy savings impacts.
It's always about the TV
Every year CES tends to be the showcase for vendors bringing out bigger TVs with more SmartTV type features.
This year is no exception, with some innovative, energy-efficient technology finally making its way to the larger screen sizes.
Prior to this year the largest OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TV available was by Sony and it was only 11inches, which is kind of small for watching the Canucks. But LG has announced it will produce a 55-inch version, and Samsung previewed its own 55-inch OLED at the Las Vegas show.
OLED has great potential to improve picture quality in a very thin package, while at the same time reducing energy consumption.
Not to be outdone, Sony introduced their Crystal Display technology. At a very high level it looks to introduce the same benefits as OLED, but with a new and slightly different technology. We'll have to wait until later in the year to see which gathers more market traction.
Keep your eye out online to see for availability and pricing for these new technologies.
Home automation gets smarter
Home automation and energy management technologies have been around for some time, trying to make the break into mass market adoption. But while every year is pegged as The Year, the arrival of more and more smart meters in the U.S. and Canadian markets means more people might start trying it out.
At the higher end of the ambition spectrum, Samsung introduced their Whole Home Energy Management System (HEMS), which starts by controlling Samsung solar panels on the roof of a house.
The solar panels charge batteries, which talk to the HEMS, which in turn talks to the Samsung appliances.
Using a Samsung tablet, you're then able route your energy where it's most needed. If your electrical utility has a demand for power, you might instruct the HEMS to sell some of the energy stored in the battery out to the grid.
Options include extending control of your home to your smartphone or tablet, to allow you to always be aware, no matter where you are.
The full-home solution might be too much for you, but there are smaller options to consider. Companies such as Tendril, Control4, and TriCascade have packages that allow control of lights, and appliances with add-on adaptors. These would be rather simple to set up and install, compared to to a full home HEMS.
What might allow this to take off in 2012? AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. both announced managed solutions to go along with their bundled internet and TV services
A bit out there: The smart window
If I didn't include one product idea that seemed like science fiction, I would have missed part of the flavour of what makes CES so much fun.
Samsung has come up with a Smart Window, a transparent screen that overlays a standard window and which is able to display apps, or even produce a virtual blind to block out the light.
It's a bit wild, but imagine the possibilities.
New Year, new choices
It's now weeks into the New Year, but it's still a great time to look at what changes you'd like to try for 2012 to help out reduce your energy consumption.
Keep tuned to this blogand, throughout the year, I'll help you find some new and interesting energy-saving options.
Tony Mauro is a Power Smart engineer and regular contributor to Unplug This Blog!
