subject: Solar panels to top up laptop batteries [print this page] Solar battery* might not all of the time be enough to fully power a laptop computer, but they could be used to help offset some of its Department of Energy demands.
That is the idea behind Intel science laboratory*' research into hybrid power supplies, which looks to use whatever sources of energy are available to reduce the draw on batteries.
At the moment, laptops and other devices draw power from one source at a time. Though solar energy power systems can be used to recharge a device, they usually aren't enough to power it - especially in cloud-strewn Britain. But researchers at Intel believe that even if solar panel adds only a few watts, it can still help extend battery lifetime.
The demo on the show floor at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco featured a sunray lamp and solar panels, which contributed a couple of watts to powering the research team's mental test laptop. The rest was drawn simultaneously from the mains.
That could not sound impressive, but take the $80 solar panels used by Intel outside on a sunny day, and they could add ten watts easily, potentially extending a laptop's charge time through hours. "You should be able to supplement power" by adding any available source of energy, said Intel researcher John Thompkins.
The system doesn't only work with solar panels: Thompkins said the system was "power agnostic" and could work with hydrogen laptop batteries or kinetic charging systems even a hand crank. "If you're stuck, you don't care if it's a car battery, as long as you get charged," he said.
"We are so lucky to have power anywhere," he said, gesturing to the strip of power sockets beneath the display table.
"Many places in the world don't have that, so to have another option could be a very big thing."
While the hybrid power system is fully functional, the project is still in its early days, and Thompkins couldn't say when it might hit the market.
Sound savings
Another project presently in the works at Intel Labs looks to better manage engine cooling system* in data point* centres - but started as research to make them quieter. "It started focusing on acoustics, but we found real, bigger impact in power savings," said Intel researcher Sati Banerjee.
Researchers developed an algorithm that could eventually be embedded in Intel systems to automatically adjust fans in servers, so they're only running at full blast when necessary, flipping on and off as needed.
As engine cooling system* account for as much as 20% of the power use in a data centre, the savings could be big, with Banerjee saying the innovation could cut the energy used by fans by 10%.
Shutting down fans more often also makes servers up to five times quieter. "For folks manning a data centre, it could be terrible to work there if the data centre always sounds like an aircraft taking off," she noted.
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