Consumers Agree the Power Model is Broken: Industry to Consider Emerging Standards at Second AUPS Conference on June 13.
Posted on May 30, 2008
Filed Under Greentech
Consumers Agree the Power Model is Broken — Industry to Consider Emerging Standards at Second AUPS Conference on June 13. Photo Sweepstakes Winner to Highlight User POV, New Consumer Research
Alliance for Universal Power Supplies Conference
When the subject is power management for consumer electronics devices, it’s a good bet that clarity, convenience and, yes, standards, will figure into the answer.
During the second gathering of the Alliance for Universal Power Supplies (www.allianceforuniversalpower.org/home.php) — set for June 13 in San Francisco –consumers will be at center stage. John Trosko, grand prize winner of Green Plug’s recent “What’s Under Your Desk?” photo sweepstakes, will give voice to consumer concerns. AUPS is an industry standards group committed to developing a universal power interface for electronic products that use external power supplies. AUPS will meet at PG&E Auditorium, 77 Beale Street, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Trosko, a professional organizer and blogger from Los Angeles, took top honors in the competition. In April, Green Plug (www.greenplug.us) asked consumers to literally shine a light on the mess of cables that lurks under virtually every desk and capture the scene digitally — and received hundreds of responses from consumers nodding in agreement. The “What’s Under Your Desk?” photo blog is live at http://greenplugcontest.typepad.com.
Trosko will formally present the findings from a new nationwide survey, which revealed that more than 60 percent of American consumers regard the status quo in consumer electronics as “wasteful” or “frustrating.” Chicago market researcher Synovate asked 1,000 online consumers about their attitudes around the purchase of consumer electronics devices, which typically come with external power supplies that don’t work with any other product.
Trosko will join John Katz, Pollution Prevention Coordinator at the EPA Region 9; Guili He, China Academy of Telecommunication Research of the Ministry of Industry and Information, who will share China’s successes in implementing a cell phone charging standard; Daisaku Yukita, JETRO, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for Japan, who will chronicle his nation’s experience; and Joel Zwier, Manager, Advanced Marketing, at Steelcase. Zwier will discuss “Power Distribution and Connectivity Challenges in Today’s Office.”
The half-day conference will also feature an industry panel, “What’s Stopping All of Us from Doing What Everyone Wants?”
“AUPS was created to address a global problem, so it’s only fitting that we have representatives from three of the world’s most important players – China, Japan and the U.S. – on hand for our second conference,” said David Canny, Senior Program Manager in Customer Energy Efficiency at PG&E and acting chair of AUPS. “We’ll also consider the distinct perspectives of the consumer, the office and the industry itself. PG&E is again delighted to host AUPS and we’re pleased to be part of this important, ongoing conversation.”
AUPS is comprised of a diverse group of organizations, including consumer electronics manufacturers; ASIC and power supply power firms; energy and waste management companies; various government agencies; equipment and tools manufacturers serving the automotive and aircraft industries; residential and commercial builders; cable and telephone companies; and the hospitality sector. Through development of industry standards, AUPS members seek to enable their products and services to be universally compatible and eco-friendly. AUPS focuses on multiport, reusable and efficient developments that ensure interoperability and encourage innovation and market growth.
In the past decade alone, the consumer electronics industry has developed and sold billions of devices that require AC to DC power supplies. Because every new CE device comes with a charger, some 3.2 billion power supplies will be designed and shipped in 2008 alone. And because every electronic product has a unique voltage and current requirement, many incompatible power supplies must be designed, produced, packaged, shipped and discarded unnecessarily. By making power supplies universal and reusable through digital collaboration, manufacturers can eliminate costs, consumers enjoy the convenience of powering any product with any power supply, and significant reductions in solid waste can be achieved.
About AUPS
AUPS (www.allianceforuniversalpower.org) is an organization that supports and will set industry-wide standards for the development and adoption of universal AC to DC power supplies. AUPS promotes and develops timely, relevant standards for the power supply industry, ensuring interoperability and encouraging innovation and market growth. AUPS, positioned as a true public private partnership, is poised to become one of the leading standards organizations in the electronics industry.
Contacts
Edge Communications, Inc.
Ken Greenberg, 818-990-5001
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com
http://www.allianceforuniversalpower.org
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