RTC Magazine

AMCC Becomes AppliedMicro—with the Focus on Low-Power Processing

Electricity—we’re using more of it and it’s costing more. And so much of it that we use is wasted, simply dissipated as heat, which requires even more electricity in the form ofRead More...

From Energy Visibility to Energy Savings in Commercial and Industrial Buildings

Most of the claims made about the value of energy visibility in realizing energy reductions are based on studies of consumer behavior in residential buildings. Are these claims equallyRead More...

Whither the Smart Grid?

Our present electrical grid—let’s just be honest—is based on technology from the 1920s that has been enhanced, expanded, improved and strengthened but not basically changed in itsRead More...

Re-Inventing Wireless Building Automation for Smaller/Retrofit Jobs

A building automation system can save money by lowering labor, power and other costs. It can also enhance occupants’ enjoyment of the space through optimized climate control, a moreRead More...

ZigBee Energy Gateway Integrates Smart Energy Devices

Fiber Optics Is the Path to Reliability in Wind Turbine Generators and Wind Farms

Electricity generation by wind turbine generators, or WTGs, is a proven green energy technology in both land and offshore environments. However, wind farms located either onshore orRead More...

Energy Harvesting and Power Balance in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless, energy-harvesting technologies are making waves in terms of sustaining building automation and energy conservation controls. By becoming versed in energy-harvesting andRead More...

Embedded Computing for Energy Efficieny: More than Just Vendor Marketing Hype

According to the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook, published yearly by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), total electricity consumption, including both purchases from electricRead More...

Energy Harvesting Applications are Everywhere

The concept of energy harvesting has been around for over a decade; however, the implementation of ambient energy-powered systems in the real-world environment has been cumbersome,Read More...

Industry Insider

OpenVPX System Specification Standard Reaches ANSI Ratification The VMEbus Industry Trade Association (VITA), has announced the ratification by ANSI of the OpenVPX SystemRead More...

NASPI: Building the Foundation for New Opportunities for Embedded

There has long been a story (which, alas, turns out to be a myth) that in 1899 the head of the U.S. Patent Office sent his resignation to President McKinley because “everything thatRead More...

Smart Phones for the Smart(er) Grid

Mobile applications on smart phones change the way we interact with the world. We can find out what the local traffic patterns look like before we walk out our front doors, enabling usRead More...

Grid-Connected Solar Micro Inverter Reference Design

A fully digitally controlled grid-connected solar micro inverter reference design with an advanced, high-efficiency topology is being offered by Microchip Technology. The solar powerRead More...

Information, not Enforcement, is Key to Smart Grid Success

For most consumers, energy has traditionally been a passive purchase. Energy usage has been tracked by the meter readers from the utility company. The typical electric bill arrivesRead More...

The Internet of Things and the Convergence of Networks

  According to the vision of the Internet of Things, billions of devices will be connected, interacting with each other and with enterprise systems, eventually blurring further theRead More...

ATX Motherboard with Core i5/i7 Processors Features "Greener" Technology

Energy Harvesting for Self-powered Distributed Sensors and Sensor Networks

A new thermoelectric power generator converts waste heat into electrical energy for a variety of self-powered applications in the wireless sensor, automotive, aerospace, industrial andRead More...

ATX Motherboard with Core i5/i7 Processors Features "Greener" Technology

Aimed at customers who seek significant computing performance and lower power consumption improvements, an industrial ATX form factor motherboard is based on Intel’s Mobile QM57Read More...

The Smart Grid Meets the Digital Home

The proliferation of wireless networks in homes, offices and commercial buildings may at first appear to be about more easily setting up computer networks that can link together in aRead More...

Smart Grid Security: Less Bruce Willis, More Ben Franklin.

In the movies, it’s compelling. In a matter of seconds, a hostile nation-state sends a string of malicious code to a small-town SCADA network, and as a consequence the entire EasternRead More...

The Smart Grid: The Advent of a New Technology Infrastructure

The concept of the Smart Grid can be described as a “many splendored thing.” In other words, it may have a basic definition, but many other ideas and assumptions arise from the notionRead More...

The Smart Grid: A Huge Task with Huge Opportunities

Could it be bigger than the Internet? That is now one of the credible predictions that are growing up around the build-out of the Smart Grid. Some time ago, Cisco was predicting a $100Read More...

The Smart Grid Tipping Point for Electric Vehicles: Closer than You Think

Will your next car be a plug-in electric vehicle (PEV)? For many American consumers, this is becoming a distinct possibility. At some point, the world will emerge from the globalRead More...

The Smart Grid Built on Smart Objects Will Challenge Developers

For the last 50 years, developed countries have enjoyed “all you can eat” electrical energy. But no more. Today, multiple factors are leading to climbing energy costs, power qualityRead More...

Securing and Improving the Smart Grid Requires Military Grade Technology

Reliability and resiliency of the Smart Grid must be the primary focus for utilities and their suppliers as the Smart Grid is critical to both national security and the global economy.Read More...

Platform Provides Lifecycle Management, Security, Safety and Reliability for Smart Grid Devices

A Next Generation Platform for Smart Energy provides a robust and expandable end-to-end solution for intelligent electronic device development and deployment including: optimizedRead More...

Key Considerations for Designing Low Cost, Energy Efficient Smart Grid Devices

Our society’s ever-demanding energy needs have not only led to an increased investment in alternative renewable sources, but have also forced us to look at ways to effectively manageRead More...

SoCs Driving Higher Levels of Integration in Smart Appliances

In recent years, SoCs have increased in complexity from purely analog or digital devices to mixed signal ICs that can be field upgraded to adjust to evolving communication protocols orRead More...

Demand-Response Monitoring Unit to Manage Electrical Loads on Demand

A compact unit for monitoring energy usage at commercial and industrial facilities such as factories, warehouses, retail stores and office buildings can be connected to utility meters,Read More...

The Double-Edged Blade of Security

Call me Cassandra, the Greek princess who could foretell the future but was cursed so that no one would believe her. It just appears that so many claims about digital security soundRead More...

Smart Meter System-on-a-Chip Combines Metrology, Security and Communication

An important advance in integration and security protection for the smart grid comes in the form of Zeus, a complete smart meter system-on-a-chip (SoC) from Maxim Integrated. ZeusRead More...

Design Basics for Energy Harvesting Systems

The widespread deployment of wireless sensors in our homes, offices, factories and infrastructure has opened the door for system designers to create novel approaches to poweringRead More...

Synchronized Embedded Intelligence Enables the Smart Grid

The electric power industry is moving to the Smart Grid because it needs as much power as possible from today’s power system. A grid is “smarter” to the extent that there isRead More...