Power Distribution

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Power Distribution Connectivity Challenges in
Todays Office
Joel Zwier Steelcase, Inc.
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Power Distribution Connectivity Challenges in
Todays Office
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1912 company established No. 1 global market
position 3.4 Billion annual revenue 13,000
employees worldwide 500 product lines 80,000
companies served 30 locations 600 global
dealer network ISO 9000 quality ISO 14000
environment SCS New York Stock Exchange
A little about Steelcase
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Space should function as a strategic
asset. Architecture, furniture, and technology
should work together in harmony. Office
furniture and products should be designed with
the user in mind. Commitment to sustainability
calls on us to excel in every environmental
dimension, with a current focus on three key
platforms materials chemistry, lifecycle
assessment and recycle/reuse.
Our core beliefs
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50 years
30 years
Power grid to user
Our focus
10 - 20 years
2 - 3 years
1 - 2 years
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Todays reality
Work can and does happen anytime and anywhere.
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It becomes an important place to connect people
to people information tools organizational
culture
The role of todays workplace
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The connections between people and their tools
has become somewhat unwieldy.
A broken connection
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Various research and development projects have
led us to identify 4 insights that are critical
to improving the connectivity experience for
users.
Researching a solution
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An increase in low voltage electronics means
multiple types of transformers, connectors and
wires must be dealt with at the desk. Survey
results indicate most corporate employees have 6
- 10 electronic devices on their desk. The
survey indicated little or no pattern of device
placement.
01 Accommodate multiple components
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Electronic devices have a variety of power and
data requirements. The effective delivery of
varying power levels needs to be supported
through our furniture.
Voltage requirements Very low (5V) Low
(20V) AC devices
Common office tools Cell phone PDA IPod Digital
camera Laptop computer Some task
lights Light Monitor Printer Projector Scanner Ca
lculator Computer speakers Space heater Radio
02 Support varying power requirements
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Power cords are only part of the problem, data
cables are also part of the spaghetti wires our
furniture needs to solve for. Voice Over IP
(VOIP) and wireless data transfer have helped
some, but the reality is that data cables will be
around for a while.
03 Solve for all spaghetti wires, not just power
Today
Unrealistic
Reality
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At Work Need to solve within a building, an
entire campus and multiple locations in different
cities, states and countries. Anywhere and
everywhere Need to solve in homes, favorite 3rd
place, airports, etc. The solution needs to be
ubiquitous to truly improve the problem.
04 Develop a solution that works everywhere
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Brainstorming a solution
You can approach it from several viewpointsand
we have.
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Approach Use furniture to manage multiple cords
and transformers. Pros Cons Simple approach
that Steelcase can control. At the desk level,
people dont bother to mange cords, we offer a
multitude of products but observe that people
dont use them. Its a limited solutiontheres
still multiple transformers and connectors.
01 Consider the spaghetti on the desk
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Approach Use a localized DC power infrastructure
that would transform AC to DC at a central
point. Pros Cons Eliminates bricks along
the path. Its not conduit and can be safely
routed through various materials and
products. But, it still demands standardized
connectors and limits the length of runs (voltage
drops) for the solution to be viable
02 Consider energy efficiency
in
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Approach Batteries could be used to power devices
all devices at the desk. Pros Cons Batteries
are unlikely to see significant technology
breakthrough in the near future. From the graph,
its unlikely that batteries will outrun the
large changes for disk capacity, CPU speed and
available RAM, which have improved exponentially
when compared to batteries. Based on trends like
this we dont think battery improvements will
contribute to changes for tools used in an 8-10
hour work day.
03 Consider no cords or connectors.
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Approach Devices could be placed on wireless
conductive or inductive power planes. The
required voltage would be delivered directly to
the appliance. Pros Cons Could be easily
integrated into worksurfaces. Inductive plane
is only viable for very low power
levels. Conductive plane is possible but
dependent on the consumer electronic industry
adopting conductive touch points and making power
planes ubiquitous.
04 Consider consolidating cords connectors.
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Approach A local universal transformer solution
and power level standards to reduce cords and
blocks. Pros Cons It would reduce the number
of transformers on or under the desk. The
connector approach would need still need to be
ubiquitous. There would still be some
spaghetti on the desk.
05 Consider one transformer
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Whatever the approach, the solution has to be
robust and offer a broad range of benefits,
like user convenience energy reduction sustainabi
lity cost reduction simplicity Are the benefits
enough to drive manufactures, consumers and
corporations through the pain of adoption?
Whats the best approach?
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Joel Zwier jzwier_at_steelcase.com
Questions?
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Joel Zwier jzwier_at_steelcase.com
Thank you
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Graphic idea for how to represent the various
approaches.
(Ill add contentthis could support the
conclusion slide)