TORONTO – CBC/Radio-Canada may be able to improve the way that electricity is consumed.
As consumers warm up to their utility companies’ “smart grid” technologies as ways to manage power consumption, a company called e-Radio Inc. has taken the process one step further. Its made-in-Canada technology harnesses the power of FM radio to wirelessly and securely activate smart grid-enabled devices and appliances such as thermostats, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, and in-home displays.
And that’s where CBC/Radio-Canada comes in. With its FM signals reaching close to 99% of the Canadian population, tapping into that infrastructure could mean that almost every household from coast-to-coast-to-coast could benefit from the technology.
“This is an innovative way for CBC/Radio-Canada to maximize the use of its radio infrastructure for the benefit of both Canadian consumers and the environment, without affecting the quality (of) our radio service,” said Michel Tremblay, SVP of corporate strategy and business partnerships, in a statement. “We’re proud to help pioneer this new made-in-Canada innovation.”
How does it work? A homeowner loads his or her dishwasher at 7:00 pm – peak demand time – and then walks away. The e-Radio technology then finds the appropriate time to wirelessly activate the dishwasher, during off peak hours. The company said that new ‘Smart Appliances’ are currently being developed that will make use of the technology.
e-Radio Inc. performed the first successful live transmission from CBC Radio 2’s 94.1 MHz frequency in Toronto to its designed and manufactured FM RDS receiver module on Friday, triggering various load control devices.
The transmission of data over FM frequencies has no effect on the quality of the radio signal.
