A South Australian company, with the potential to significantly cut power bills and associated carbon emissions, has received funding to deliver its power-saving breakthrough to market within 12 months.
Adelaide-based Ember Technologies has developed a globally applicable technology that can selectively turn off idle electrical devices, both in the home and in businesses, which are in idle or standby mode. Standby power represents roughly 10 per cent of the power used in Australian homes.
South Australian seed investor Playford Capital and Victorian venture investor Cleantech Ventures have announced a $750,000 investment in Ember Technologies, which will fund the company to finalise its initial product designs and plan the launch of its products.
The technology involves a blend of embedded adaptive intelligence and smart electronics. It is ideally suited for all standard audio-visual systems and computer applications within the home and office environments. Most importantly, it requires no change in consumer behaviour – Ember does it all automatically.
The benefits include power savings of as much as $120 a year per application, longer equipment life through full powering down of devices, reduced fire risk by removing standby power and protection from power fluctuations, reduced CO2 emissions by reducing and in most cases eliminating standby power.
“In Australia alone, this wasteful power consumption is worth in the order of $1 billion each year and equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions produced by around 1.5 million cars,” Ember Technologies CEO Domenico Gelonese said.