Zigbee Increases Focus on Energy-Harvesting-Powered Battery-Less IoT Devices
The Zigbee Alliance announced new branding and certification measures centered around its existing Green Power feature, which is based on energy harvesting technology and part of the flagship Zigbee PRO standard. The new brand treatment - designed to easily identify reliable, cost-saving products utilizing Zigbee technology - denotes IoT devices featuring Green Power to save time, budget, and energy when it comes to wireless lighting for big installations.
Emerging light and thermal energy harvesting technologies are increasing the choices designers have for developing battery-less wearable and IoT devices. Recent examples of advanced technology developments in energy harvesting include Exeger Operations' light harvesting technology and Face International Corporation's Evercell™ thermal energy harvester.
Exeger's photovoltaic technology converts photons into energy through a unique nano-material, just like chlorophyll in plants. The company recently partnered with ABB to bring its technology into mass production.
Face's Evercell™ energy harvesters combine a unique patented passive structure and the principles of quantum thermodynamics to harvest thermal energy in virtually any environment, with no need for a perceptible temperature differential, as long as the ambient temperature is above absolute zero.
Zigbee Announces New Logo, Updated Certification Process
The new Zigbee Alliance Green Power logo is now a required mark for all Green Power certified devices. The updated certification process provides refined guidelines around the use of the new Green Power logo, and builds on the prestigious family of Zigbee Alliance brands and logo portfolio.
"Green Power is a great feature of the Zigbee standard. This new logo allows our customers to easily identify and purchase Green Power devices for integrating them seamlessly with their Zigbee system," said Jean-Pierre Desbenoit, Senior IoT Standardization Expert, Schneider Electric and Vice Chairman of the Board for the Zigbee Alliance. "Interoperability is the cornerstone of our smart devices and this new logo reinforces that."
The new logo will aid end users in both the smart home and commercial realms. Green Power is a battery-less feature for smart networks cast across a variety of facilities (including hotels, factories, retail space, office buildings, etc.). It offers building executives, commercial installers, and integrators a reliable and proven open industry solution based on the Zigbee PRO network specification.
"We utilize Green Power in our switches and sensors to ensure that the products we put on the market are adaptable and long-lasting in smart commercial and residential spaces," said Bruno Vulcano, R&D Manager, Legrand and Vice Chairman of the Zigbee Alliance Board of Directors. "This new logo will allow our end customers to easily differentiate which products they want to use and continue to allow for widespread interoperability in smart spaces."
Substantial Human and Natural Resource Savings with Green Power
Green Power enables wireless devices to be powered utilizing energy-harvesting methods with limited or no batteries, thus, saving on maintenance costs by reducing the need to replace batteries across large areas on a regular basis.
Additionally, this feature in lighting products allows for continued flexibility and cost savings in commercial spaces by enabling internal space to be altered without the limits of wired solutions. For devices in hard-to-reach places, Green Power eliminates the effort/limitations of swapping out batteries. In addition, the Green Power feature provides dramatic ecological savings by leveraging energy-harvesting to draw on sources such as motion, light, and vibration to operate low-power IoT devices.
"Our Green Power initiative is a collaboration led by Zigbee Alliance members based around the world, and together they're driving this important feature through the organization, across various product lines, and into massive wireless deployments for the good of the earth and the convenience of those using Zigbee technologies," said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO, Zigbee Alliance. "We're excited to launch this new Green Power initiative so members can utilize a dedicated logo and more robust certification process to clearly designate and qualify devices that support this differentiating eco-friendly, battery-less feature."
