Discover micro-energy responses to major challenges on 26 June

19 June 2014

Organisations from across Europe will be celebrating Micro-Energy Day on 26 June 2014 to raise awareness about energy use for devices which, though small, have a huge impact on our daily lives.

Coordinated by the NiPS Laboratory at the University of Perugia and partners in the ICT-Energy project as part of European Sustainable Energy Week, this year’s event will include several demonstrations in different European countries. In Perugia, a run will be organised using the Wisepower smartphone application to inform participants of how much energy they have gathered. Meanwhile, visitors to the MareNostrum supercomputer at Barcelona Supercomputing Center, the Euroscience Open Forum in Copenhagen and the University of Bristol will find out about energy issues and the solutions proposed to solve them.

‘Micro-Energy Day, held every year since 2010 by our laboratory to disseminate a new conceptual approach to renewable energies at micro scales, has grown, involving partners all over Europe and reaching students and families as well as politicians and the media. An enjoyable event, such as a science café or party, provides an occasion to grab the attention of the audience and stimulate exploration into the micro-energy world’, commented Silvia Lombardi on behalf of the Noise in Physical Systems Laboratory at the University of Perugia, the coordinator of ICT-Energy.

According to the International Energy Agency, consumer electronics and computer equipment represent 15% of global residential electricity consumption – and this figure is set to triple if energy efficiency is not improved. Micro-Energy Day seeks to highlight this issue and showcase projects under the ICT Energy umbrella, which draw together a potent pool of research capabilities to create next-generation, energy efficient ICT solutions. Previous events have included science cafés, school visits and battery-free parties to explore ways of responding to our numerous electronic energy needs.

Further information is available on the Micro-Energy Day website (http://microenergyday.eu/) and ICT Energy website (http://www.ict-energy.eu ).

Micro-Energy events can be found on the European Sustainable Energy Week website: http://www.eusew.eu/energy-days/europe