Menlo Micro, the company responsible for reinventing the electronic switch, has announced that its Ideal Switch™ received a 2022 Edison Award in the Energy Grid & Power Supply category. The annual Edison Awards globally recognizes, honors and fosters innovations and innovators whose solutions make a positive impact in the world.
“It’s only fitting that the Edison Awards recognized Menlo Micro’s transformative Ideal Switch following the 175th birthday of Thomas Edison, the visionary who invented and patented the first circuit breaker in 1879, the precursor of all modern switches,” said Chris Giovanniello, Co-Founder and SVP Marketing, Menlo Micro. “The Ideal Switch brings massive reductions, often greater than 99 percent, in size, weight, power and cost across dozens of industries. These reductions are fundamental to accelerating the transition to the electrification of everything and modernizing the $100B+ market for RF and power switching and protection devices in the 21st century.”
According to Adroit Market Research, the global electrification market is experiencing tremendous growth, projected to reach $128 billion by 2028. More intelligent and efficient power switching solutions are needed to control and protect billions of critical assets used in industrial automation, smart buildings, transportation and electrical infrastructure. According to a recent Menlo Micro white paper, the Ideal Switch can contribute to a more energy-efficient world by helping to eliminate 20 percent of global carbon emissions and enabling $37B in electricity savings by 2050.
An estimated 8 billion switching devices are deployed in factories each year. Faster, smaller and more reliable Ideal Switch devices can fundamentally change how factories operate and manage workloads. For example, replacing the electromechanical relays and switches used to control industrial processes and equipment with highly efficient Ideal Switch technology will increase reliability 1000x and save more than $7 trillion in operating costs by 2050.
More than 175 billion switching devices are installed in buildings worldwide including ceiling fan motor regulators, smart switches and outlets, circuit breakers and HVAC controls. Replacing 20 billion outlets and switches in U.S. buildings with Ideal Switches can save the equivalent amount of electricity produced by 11 power plants. Using Ideal Switches in the controllers of more than a billion ceiling fans worldwide would also save enough energy to take 17 coal-fired power plants off the grid.
After more than 40 years of industry attempts by larger companies, Menlo Micro has delivered the “holy grail” in switching technology. Leveraging advances in materials science and MEMS technology, Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch is the most important electronic component since the invention of the transistor. Menlo Micro has engaged with global technology leaders and delivered a strong product pipeline while shipping the Ideal Switch in volume production into power grid, medical technology, test and measurement, aerospace and defense, 5G infrastructure, industrial IoT and smart building applications.
The Edison Awards are named after Thomas Edison, whose inventions, product development methods, and innovative achievements helped change the world. The Edison Awards have recognized and honored some of the most innovative new products, services, and business leaders in the world since 1987.
Menlo Micro’s Ideal Switch was chosen as the 2022 Edison Award winner by a panel of judges comprised of more than 3,000 senior business executives, academics, and innovation professionals.
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