A signal amplifier designed by engineers at the Universities of Bristol and Cardiff works at 50 per cent efficiency compared with the 30 per cent now typically achieved, and the researchers have calculated the design could save roughly half the output of a mid-size 400MW power station if rolled out to just a fifth of the country’s 50,000 phone mast base stations.
Currently, a 40W transmitter in a phone mast’s base station requires just over 130W of power to amplify signals and send them wirelessly to people’s mobiles, but the new design enables the transmitter to work effectively while using just 80W of power.
Dr Kevin Morris, project leader at the University of Bristol, said: “This new amplifier design represents a step change in energy efficiency that could make a really valuable contribution to meeting the UK’s carbon reduction targets.”
The team’s development of a less power-hungry amplifier...