THE NEWSROOM


Energizing Small Appliances: When Size Matters

Just imagine…

It’s a beautiful day, and you’re hurrying to finish your yard work so you can relax in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. You’re almost through when disaster strikes: The batteries on your trimmer run out. You don’t have a spare battery, so you’ll need to recharge the trimmer before you can finish your work. So much for time to relax and recharge yourself!

Or…

You’re on a long plane trip, working hard on your laptop to complete your annual budget. You’ve just about finished when the “low battery” indicator tells you it’s time to shut down – or else lose your work. Your only option is to turn off the laptop and check out the airline magazine for the rest of the trip.

We all suffer from the “low-battery-juice” problem far too often, whether it be with our cordless lawn equipment, power tools, cell phones, or laptop computers. Here’s the reason: these different types of small, cordless devices require a lot of energy to run. To compound the problem, being small, they must also be lightweight, which means adding more battery power is not the solution. Small appliances must maintain a delicate balance between size, weight and functionality in order to remain practical enough to enjoy widespread success in the market.

Furthermore, the small appliance market is highly competitive, so the cost to the consumer is of paramount importance. Adding expensive battery technology to a $25 appliance runs the risk of pricing the product right out of its market.

P² Technologies, a Richardson, Texas-based company, offers a novel solution to this problem. “Our technology was designed to increase battery run-time relating to the physics of a particular load,” says Walt Evanyk, P²'s Chief Technology Officer. “We have designed our circuitry to optimize the way an appliance draws power from its batteries, thus making it run longer on a single charge.”

Now in its second year of operation, P² works closely with appliance manufacturers to incorporate its patented circuitry into its customers’ products. “We basically perform a before-and-after test in our labs,” says Evanyk. “Since each type of appliance has unique performance issues, we work hard to ensure that we are using the right configuration of our circuitry to maximize the run-time of each customer’s product.”

P²’s original patent covers using the circuitry to power a cordless hair dryer, a revolutionary concept in the hair care industry. However, P² has successfully applied its technology on other heat-bearing appliances as well as motor-driven and light-generating devices. In the meantime, the company has extended its technology platform to cover any type of device that uses DC or AC power. “We have seen run-time improvements anywhere from fifteen to two hundred percent, depending on the appliance,” says Evanyk. “And since our circuitry can be fully miniaturized, we are able to achieve these numbers without adding weight or bulk to the appliance.”

P²’s business model is designed around licensing the technology to its customers. After working with an appliance manufacturer to apply the circuitry to a specific appliance, EPM grants a license so the manufacturer may use the technology in any applicable device. This allows the manufacturer to use its own channels to source the circuitry or incorporate it into the existing product design.

Many consumer appliance manufacturers are looking exclusively at improvements in battery technology to enhance their products’ run-times. However, innovations in battery technology are not occurring as frequently as improvements in other high-tech products. “There have been some great advances in battery technology over the last few years,” says Evanyk. “The problem is that these technologies are not cost-efficient for smaller appliances. That’s why we recommend that our customers remain on top of the innovation curve by using the best available batteries at the appropriate cost points, coupled with our circuitry.”

P² is marketing a solution for those of us who have suffered from the early shutdown of the laptop, the early demise of the lawn trimmer or the mid-conversation cut-off of the cell phone. Ultimately, Evanyk envisions a world where P²’s circuitry is embedded in a wide variety of devices, including large appliances. “If it uses energy, we can optimize it,” he emphasizes.