NIZE - a Near Field Communication interface enabling zero energy standby for everyday electronic devices

Standby power consumption of electric devices is a growing waste of energy. Between 5% and 14% of the residential electrical power consumption is caused by devices being in standby mode. Depending on the device type, more than 50% of standby power consumption could be saved by applying state-of-the-art power management techniques. By implementing a zero energy standby design and outsourcing power consuming user interfaces, even more electrical power can be saved. Here we present a novel Near Field Communication (NFC) interfacing method for everyday electronic devices. By implementing this interface, the target device can be shut down during idle times. Thus, standby power consumption is eliminated completely. If user interaction is requested, NFC provides the electrical energy to switch on the target device´s power supply and to start the device. Furthermore, any control, status, and maintenance information can be transmitted over NFC. By outsourcing high power dissipating and unoptimized user interfaces (touch screens, WiFi, etc.) to the power optimized NFC reader, further energy savings are possible also during running state. This paper demonstrates the implementation and integration of this novel interfacing technique into common consumer electronics. Two implementation approaches are presented. A simple, energy harvesting-based approach illustrates the basic working principle. The second, more sophisticated approach, enables also authentication, encrypted data transfer, user interface outsourcing, configuration and control tasks, etc. A proof of concept is demonstrated by means of an access control terminal.