DEPARTMENTS
Power
Wireless Charging is
Really Happening
Wi-Charge Makes Wireless Power Charging a Reality in the Smart Home
Up until recently, the wireless smart home has
been a bit of a myth. Despite developments in
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the final hurdle has always
been that pesky power cord. Soon, however,
wireless power technology may finally become a
reality.
Wi-Charge (pronounced “Why Charge”), an
Israeli company with its U.S.
headquarters in Baltimore, has already
developed a wireless smart lock
solution with Alarm.com and Allegion’s
Schlage brand that eliminates the need
for batteries. Additionally, Wi-Charge’s
Wireless Power Kit for Amazon Echo
and Google Home won an Innovation
Award at CES 2019 for its ability to
“untether” smart speakers from a power
outlet.
As Wi-Charge Chief Marketing
Officer Yuval Boger explains it, Wi-
Charge has set out to improve and simplify the
user experience with smart home devices by
investing in innovation and exploring the
possibility of integrating their technology into
technologies such as smart locks, smart
speakers, and smart thermostats.
“Power delivery to smart home devices such as
battery-powered smart locks, cameras, and
sensors is an issue for manufacturers and
consumers alike,” he said. “The existing choices
between the convenience of batteries and the
power of wired devices limits the features that
can be added by developers and used by
consumers. Consumers are also forced to deal
with low battery notifications and battery
replacements or find that devices may lack
features when not plugged into an AC outlet.”
Wi-Charge uses infrared (IR) light to deliver
20 Residential Tech Today | July/August 2019
energy safely and efficiently across
the room. “What that means for
companies is that they don’t need
batteries and wires,” Boger
explained. “They now receive power
from a small photo cell that
connects to their device. They never
have to replace batteries.”
Wi-Charge is collaborating with smart home security and automation ecosystem providers to provide wireless
power charging capabilities.
Similar to a laser pointer, IR sends a direct
beam of light from one side of the room to the
other, ensuring that the receiver collects 100
percent of the energy transmitted.
“We can deliver a couple watts across the
room,” Boger explained. “For perspective, if we
deliver half a watt to a cell phone, then that
phone could be on and playing music endlessly
without needing to charge. Any time I deliver
more than half a watt, I can contribute to the
battery life.”
In a typical setup, the Wi-Charge energy
transmitter, which is about the size of a beer can,
is connected to a power outlet. That transmitter
sends the infrared signal to the devices in need
of a charge. It is capable of charging multiple
devices, as long as the aggregate power
requirement is within the system’s threshold.
The distance between transmitter and receiver
can be as far as away as 20 feet, within line-ofsight.
Wi-Charge-branded products are not yet in
mass production, but expect to find them on
Amazon in the early part of 2020, along with
products from other OEM partners. “Wi-
Charge is collaborating with innovators in the
smart home security and automation ecosystem
industries to enable the next generation of smart
home devices,” Boger said. “Untethered,
wireless power will usher in a new era of devices
and use cases for consumers that have
previously been limited or restricted by power
cables and batteries.” x
By Jeremy Glowacki
/Alarm.com