Power electronics for sustainable energy future - quantifying the value of power electronics

Power electronics is the key technology for the efficient use, distribution and generation of electrical energy. It is estimated that by wider adoption of power electronics about 30% of reduction in electrical energy consumption can be achieved. For many applications technologies are already available but the biggest obstacle to the further market penetration of power electronics are Economy, Policy and Public Acceptance. We need to find better and more effective ways to present the importance and value of power electronics in a way that can be understood by policy makers and that can capture the imagination of the general public. In this paper some possibilities are explored of how we could quantify and explain the added value of using more power electronics. Energy payback time is shown to be a powerful tool to weigh the value of energy savings achieved by using power electronics against the energy needed to manufacture the systems. It is shown that power electronics systems have considerably shorter energy payback time compared to other technologies required for achieving a fully sustainable energy system.