Lead Performer: University of Virginia—Charlottesville, VA
January 2, 2018
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Lead Performer: University of Virginia—Charlottesville, VA
Partners:
-- Oak Ridge National Laboratory—Oak Ridge, TN
-- University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, MI
DOE Total Funding: $2,400,000
Cost Share: $272,000
Project Term: December 2017—November 2020
Funding Type: Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2017 (DE-FOA-0001632)
Project Objective
More technologies are becoming reliant on low-power wireless communications, including sensors for building control applications. A key focus area for BTO is increasing the operational power lifetime and reducing the complexity of installation and maintenance through advancements in sensor device physics and computational algorithms. Many miscellaneous electric load (MELs) devices, which are growing in their overall usage, include wireless technologies to improve their connectivity (e.g., wi-fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee) and reduce their energy consumption. As a result, network traffic has grown by an order of magnitude in the past five years. As part of an ongoing effort to enhance low-power wireless communication, this project will develop a wireless connectivity module made of radio frequency (RF) hardware and systems software that enables RF connectivity at over 50% lower active power consumption for integration into MELs. The resulting wireless communication chips and integrated systems will not only reduce the power consumption of wireless appliances, but will be an enabling technology for other energy efficiency measures, including reduction of no-load power (“phantom” loads due to transformer losses), reduction of stand-by power (required for instant-on functionality) by enabling zero energy listening for wake-up events, and ubiquitous power metering.
Through these improvements, the development of new protocols and control schemes based on existing standards that take advantage of the “active” transmission mode and continuous connectivity at over 10x lower power levels will be enabled.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Marina Sofos
Lead Performer: Benton Calhoun, University of Virginia