That is the primary finding of a poll of EE Times Europe readers conducted during the month of August.
An alternative is to invest in sensor and control networks to reduce energy consumption in major plants and infrastructure, an option which ran PV research a close second. The solar route grabbed 24 percent of respondents’ votes while enhanced control garnered 21 percent.
A number of other activities scored well. In descending order: developing energy harvesting technologies scored 13 percent; improving the efficiency of batteries received 12 percent; improving the efficiency of power supplies got 11 percent; improving the efficiency of lighting was thought a bright idea by 10 percent; and taking steps to lower the power consumption of ICs brought up the rear with 9 percent of vote.