a 100 year old industry
A 100-year-old technology is about to change forever. Wherever there is electricity, there’s a mechanical circuit breaker. Turning them into digital smart devices completely changes the game. For the greater good. And it’s time. Faster, better, safer, smarter – our solid state miniature circuit breakers enables software control of electricity and create the spark for an entirely new shift in energy. For many.
Electricity. You’ve had a good run. And sparked many great ideas along the way. Now let’s make the most of it. The next paradigm in the electronic evolution is here. Ready? Let’s go.
Mechanical circuit breaker
While the world has changed dramatically over the past century our electricity system has been left behind. We still rely on a 100-year-old technology, mechanical circuit breakers.
Solid state circuit breaker
Solid state circuit breakers fill the needs of existing circuit breakers, remote controls and smart meters, in one single device. It is x1000 faster and safer and opens up a new world for real-time software services.
Outdated electricity system
Electrical flow and safety are governed by mechanical switches and circuit breakers that haven’t changed in over a century. These archaic components are no longer fit to meet to needs of the modern grid. All traditional circuit breakers are mechanical products that sit idle most of the time.
Mechanical circuit breakers only have limited capacity to detect faults and protect against fires. They have moving parts that makes them unreliable and limits the speed of switching – and obviously they cannot be controlled by software.
Short term band aids
Attempts to digitize electricity control have focused on partial, fragmented solutions, such as smart plugs, smart meters or patching together mechanical circuit breakers with auxiliary equipment, but these solutions only act as band aids to support the traditional infrastructure.
Advanced technologies to plan, manage, monitor, and control electricity delivery are needed to enable safe and reliable two-way flow of electricity and information, support growing numbers of distributed energy resources, and support customers participating in electricity markets as both power suppliers and demand managers.
The need for speed
Furthermore, with the ongoing shift from AC to DC, efficient protection devices become another alarming concern. Mechanical circuit breakers cannot detect potential threats, nor act with the speed needed for DC, making them hazardous and present some unique challenges for the fire service, building occupiers and insurers.
Software control of electricity
We at Blixt develops unique technologies that enable software control of electricity. Our product portfolio includes both solid state circuit breakers and a new generation of voltage converters.
By collecting sub second metering data we monitor the electronics loads in real time and detect any changes in consumption patterns. But we can also remotely control the power, not only on/off but modulating from 0-100%. AC or DC it doesn’t matter, we can handle it all using the same hardware.
What sets us apart
With the built-in microcontroller, we can implement advanced functionality, like arc fault detection, customizing the breakers behavior or running your favorite AI. What sets us apart from our competitors is that we do not see the solid state circuit breaker as a drop in replacement for the existing mechanical breakers. We see the bigger picture. So far, all other so called ‘smart’ circuit breakers patch together mechanical circuit breakers with additional clamps or sensors to try to increase the functionality. But we are introducing the computer into a mechanical domain and with it the power of digital systems and software.
We are just getting started
The resulting application landscape is huge. Our core technology for the Blixt Zero solid state circuit breaker will be used to produce new circuit breakers in all areas, high/low voltage, DC/AC, residential/industrial and more. We have chosen to start with a 16A residential breaker, but many other products are in pipeline.
Stay tuned!