Black Remote Technology

Here is a video outlining the basic idea of the Black Remote. A lamp was used instead of a television set to clarify when the power is on and off.

	Initial Stereo Cost: $49.00 Annual Cost of leaving it plugged in: $11.00
Initial Cost of Entertainment Center: $2300.00 Annual Cost of leaving it plugged in: $106.00

Almost all home electronic equipment draws  power when plugged in but “turned off.”   This phenomena, commonly referred to as phantom or vampire power loss, typically accounts for 5% of a homeowner’s monthly electrical bill.

Black Remote Technology eliminates this unneeded power drain.

The main source of phantom energy loss centers around remote control devices.  Any component which can be controlled remotely is going to draw a small amount of current “listening” for remote signals.  Resolving this problem requires minor design changes.  There are two types of changes required to eliminate phantom energy loss.

The first type centers around stand alone electronics which use a remote such as portable CD players, Ipod speakers, and so on.  These types of devices can be designed with a remote control cradle built into the base of the device.  When the remote is placed in the cradle a switch is activated, causing the device to stop listening for remote signals.  When the remote is removed from the cradle, the device starts listening for remote signals.  Here is an example of an existing produc, the Pure I10 iPod Dock:

Here is how it can be modified to hold the remote control.  Note that the base of the unit does not need to listen for remote signals when the remote control is in the cradle.  Removing the remote from the cradle will activate the remote signal functionality of the device.

The second type of situation involves multiple components controlled through a single remote control.  A home entertainment center is a common example.  A typical system would include a television, an audio receiver, a DVD player, and a Playstation.  A single remote controls several devices.  In this situation, a stand alone device is needed to control the flow of power.  This device would plug into a standard electrical outlet and contain multiple electrical recepticals, much like a common power strip.  However, this device also contains a remote control cradle.  Placing the remote in the cradle shuts off power to all the components.  Removing the remote control restores power to the components.

These two simple design changes will help eliminate phantom power loss with minimal effort on the end-users part. While reducing household power consumption by 5% may seem trivial, as a nation we are wasting 65 Billion kilowatt-hours of electricity which costs us $5.8 billion dollars a year. To put that in perspective, the Hoover Dam produces 565 million kilowatt-hours each year. That is equivalent to 115 Hoover Dams.