‘Visible’ Energy Contributing to Saving Energy

Making energy ‘visible’ is what HD-PLC has on display as one of the solutions in realizing a `Green Ubiquitous’ society which it promotes. An electric meter and HD-PLC adaptor are connected to an equipment to collect how much energy is being used. That data is displayed on a PC via a network using HD-PLC. If the electric meter is directly connected to a PC with a cable, it can only display the amount of electricity used by one equipment, but by using PLC, energy usage for multiple equipment can now be measured, even the ones that are too far away to connect with cables.

At the Test House, the microwave and the air conditioner in the kitchen are each connected to an electric meter and a HD-PLC adaptor. A PC in the living room can display real time data of the energy usage. Currently on display is a prototype of a HD-PLC adaptor with built in electric meter, so developers can test out its usability.

• Energy usage of microwave is displayed on a PC in the living room via an electric meter and HD-PLC adaptor

Remotely Controlling the Brightness of LED Street Lights

Another example of the Green Ubiquitous display is the system for controlling the brightness of street lights remotely. Topco Technologies of Taiwan developed LED (light-emitting-diode) street lights with built in HD-PLC modules with assigned IP addresses. This allows remote operation from indoors via a HD-PLC network.

One of the advantages of LED street lights are that the brightness can be adjusted, instead of just an on and off operation. The LED street lights on display at the Test House have ten levels of brightness that can be adjusted from a PC. Adjusting the brightness of the street lamps which are constantly lit at nighttime can cut down on energy use. Since these lamps also come with security cameras on the poles, the lights can become very bright if a suspicious person is spotted in the area.

• Brightness of the street lamps can be remotely controlled from a PC via HD-PLC network