Power Charging Shortages at Universities

The problem……

Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to charge my I-phone and Mac so that I can complete my project when there are only two outlets here in the library and everyone is waiting to use them? Sorry guys I’ll have to provide you my group project stuff later when I get back to my dorm room to charge my laptop and I-phone..

How often have we witnessed this same scenario being played out in our own lives? When I went to college it really didn’t matter because I used my trusted TI-30 calculator and computing was done with punch cards. Useful power for charging my electronic stuff never entered my mind. My son on the other hand has to deal with this issue nearly every day as a student attending college.

An exponential increase in consumer electronic devices used by students…

 Think about how the proliferation of consumer electronics has happened over the course of the last decade. It started with the pager and later moved to the mobile phone. Since the late 80’s mobility and the need for smaller, more lightweight devices has contributed to an exponential growth rate where people went from carrying one consumer electronic device to an average of four or five. We have the Apple family, the Droid family, e-readers, netbooks, notebooks, compact cameras, game controllers and the most recent introduction of computing tablets just to name a few.

Older, brick & mortar constructed buildings not ideally set up to transport power…

Many of today’s universities have been constructed virtually centuries ago with their historic concrete and brick structures. Back when these university buildings were built there was never a thought considered of what the future would bring in the way of today’s student electronic power charging needs so locating multiple sources of convenient power in libraries, study halls, lounges, watering holes and other areas where students congregate is a challenge to say the least.

University collaboration through the use of team projects and group studies....

So let’s say we’ve managed to solve the problem of getting more outlets put in the walls for the kids to use. That really doesn’t address the CONVIENENT aspects of power transfer. Many of today’s college students are encouraged (or should I say heavily persuaded) to work in study groups if they have any aspirations of successfully completing a course. Working in study groups means students collaborating together in a sitting area working with their multitude of electronic devices. Does having more outlets solve the problem when it is several feet away from where the group is working? The other question to consider is does two plug receptacles provide an adequate number of power points for the group to use?

Considerations….

New companies are emerging that have become sensitized to the rising demands for power (or like in my case are writing about it primarily as a result of having a heavy consumer electronics dependent college student). Creative power transfer solutions are finally becoming a reality for universities that involve tapping into the power source from a traditional wall outlet and using specialized power cable management components that can be safely routed through furniture and in some cases coupled with new technology twists such as Wire-Free charging. Students have the ability to sit in a workspace environment and easily pull power from a multiple point power source embedded in a table top or arm rest. Power cables are easily routed away from potential hazard areas as a result. Shortages of convenient sources of power will soon be a problem of the past as universities and other hospitality driven businesses realize that they are providing a disservice to their paying customers and look to implement innovative power transfer solutions.

What are your thoughts? Haven’t you run into similar situations where there just wasn’t adequate, convenient places to charge your phone or notebook computer?

Edward Zarkonian (EZ) Powers