National Agenda Shifts To Lower Power
By Ed Sperling
The semiconductor industry is getting a better reception from the Obama administration than it has in years from previous administrations, which all but ignored warnings about global warming and a destabilizing dependence on foreign oil.
In fact, the new mantra of saving power while improving the quality of life could drive one of the biggest boons in the industry’s 60-year history. Much of that is included in a new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a non-profit group comprised of some of the top companies in the chip industry. The group issued a new report entitled, “Semiconductors are now the driving force behind U.S. energy efficiency gains.” It said the U.S. economy could expand 70% through 2030 and still consume 11% less energy.
That estimate may be conservative, however, particularly once things like energy harvesting and broader power-saving features begin hitting the market.
“We certainly can do things differently to save energy,” said John Perzow, marketing director for the power management group at Analog Devices. “In a wind farm, you can do a lot of monitoring to avoid human intervention with vibration sensors. That lowers the cost. It also means that you don’t have to drive out there and check them, and then drive back.”
He said the same is true with lighter televisions. The new ones use less power, but because they weigh less they also take less energy to ship.
But the biggest gains may come from utilizing some of the same power-saving techniques developed for portable, battery-driven devices inside those with a plug. If a server in a data center is only 15% utilized, for example, parts of it—particularly cores within the processor—can be turned off completely when they’re not being used.
“Those kinds of techniques are definitely getting shared between portable and non-portable systems,” Perzow said. “We talk to our colleagues in the hall.”
Tags: Analog Devices, business, national policy