Green Power is one of the hot buzzwords of 2009 but just what the heck does it mean – and more importantly, what does it mean for the average engineer? It wasn’t so long ago that the term conjured up visions of granola-munching back-to-the-land types hanging solar panels on their geodesic domes and putting up windmills next to their organic goat dairies. Now, as we rapidly enter a carbon-constrained economy, the solar panels are more likely to be found on suburban ranch homes or the roof of the local WalMart  But the utility-sized solar installations and multi-megawatt, wind farms begin to pop up across the landscape are only a small portion of the green energy technologies that are transforming how we live - and how we make a living.

The electronics industry already plays a key (and profitable) role in making those large solar and wind power sources possible but we’ll also see huge markets developing for the components that add intelligence to the electric power grid – not to mention the Smart Grid-compliant appliances and other energy-saving products. Whether you’re working on a radical new green tech product or simply need to make sure your next design meets one of the new eco-label energy efficiency standards, it’s almost a sure bet that green power technologies will touch most engineers’ lives.

I’ve fired up the Green Power / Green Tech Community at TechBites to serve as a forum where design engineers and technology managers can explore the tools, technologies, techniques, and products they need to create energy-efficient, eco-friendly designs. To get things started, our community will focus primarily on green power issues which fall roughly into the following categories:

-         Energy conservation

• High-efficiency power supplies and converters
• LEDs and other energy-efficient lighting technologies
• Smart motor controls for consumer & industrial applications
• Energy-efficient white goods and consumer electronics
• Green transportation technologies including EV and PHEV and V2G systems
• Designing to meet EnergyStar, CECP, Blue Angel, and other global energy efficiency standards.

-         Energy management

• Smart Grid technologies and components
• Smart Building technologies and components
• Smart lighting systems and components
• Energy-efficient data centers

-         Renewable energy

• Solar power generation, inverters, and other power conditioning elements
• Wind generators and related power conversion systems
• Ocean & tidal power generating systems
• Integration of renewable energy systems with the Smart Grid

As time (and reader interest) permits, we’ll also look at some of the other important green design issues facing electrical engineers. Some of today’s hot topics include:

-         Designing products to work with eco-friendly manufacturing processes

-         Designing products that can be cleanly and easily recycled

-         Designing products to meet WEEE, RoHS, EPEAT, Green Mark, Blue Angel, and other global eco-design standards

-         The latest developments in Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tools and other eco-design practices

Have I missed anything you were especially interested in? If I have, be sure to post your thoughts on the blog attached to this article. Perhaps you’ll even contribute a news item, product review, or technical article yourself. After all, that’s what TechBites is all about.

But whether you’re a contributor or a lurker, stay tuned over the next few months – it’s going to get very interesting here.

Lee Goldberg – Green Power Community Leader This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it