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> mains-connected smoke detectors (1% efficient) Those aren’t a waste, they are critical life safety equipment. If their 1% efficient power supply lasts the fu
by gnu8 8y ago
> mains-connected smoke detectors (1% efficient)
Those aren’t a waste, they are critical life safety equipment. If their 1% efficient power supply lasts the full 10 year lifespan of a smoke detector rather than 6-18 months like a typical LED lightbulb, I’d say that’s the appropriate level of reliability.
- ip26 8y agoYeah, they're important & valuable. However, battery-powered smoke detectors do it with 1% of the power. If every home in Australia had two smoke alarms, that means 5,600 kW of continuous and largely wasted energy consumption. I don't mean wasted in purpose: smoke alarms are essential. The wasteful part is the fact that 99% of the power going into smoke alarms goes to converting AC power to DC power. As far as I'm concerned, that's 99% scope for improvement. https://reductionrevolution.com.au/blogs/news-reviews/5842566-99-waste-the-unexpected-energy-consumption-of-smoke-alarms https://reductionrevolution.com.au/blogs/news-reviews/584256...
- gnu8 8y agoThat is an incredible amount of energy and I agree that it is worth trying to reduce, but I’m skeptical of adding numerous DC-DC converters to the chain. In the current state, it’s all passive devices between the turbine at the power plant and the smoke detector on the ceiling. I wouldn’t trade that reliability for power savings lightly.