Related subjects:
Why SLAT decided to act for Environment
Our concrete actions to reduce Carbon footprint
The eco-design approach
Eco-design of the products is an integral part of the SLAT offer development process. From the marketing request, where the current and future needs of customers are taken into account, to the industrialization of products with the aim of producing them with less energy, reducing as much as possible the waste related to the process. Several major objectives have tangible benefits for customers.
Reducing energy costs
Among SLAT's products, you will find power supplies. The role of these power supplies is to convert the voltage of the electrical network, typically 230V AC, into a voltage that can be used by the customer's equipment, generally a low voltage DC (24V DC for example). Although this conversion is performed by electronic switching power supplies, which have a much better efficiency than power supplies using transformers, there are still losses related to the switching and conduction of the semiconductors. This results in heat generation.
If the losses remain low, because the power of the products is modest, once accumulated over a day, then over 365 days and over the life of the product, multiplied by the number of power supplies used, then the power consumption lost is not negligible at all.
The new generations of power supplies developed by SLAT consume half the energy of previous generations. In 2021, our customers have saved 211 tons of CO2e by choosing our power supplies. They have also saved a lot of money on their electricity bill!
Increasing resilience
Combating global warming is a necessity. However, and unfortunately for us, CO2 in the atmosphere persists for decades, and the climate of the next three decades is dictated by greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Our equipment and systems will have to be able to operate with global warming.
Our new outdoor products are designed to last. They will experience higher temperatures than today on summer days. They will experience more severe thunderstorms than today, with hail and windstorms. Lightning strikes will be much more numerous. Energy will be scarcer during summer.
SLAT has designed its outdoor range of products to be resilient to climate change in order to cope with all these new constraints and harsher new environment. The SYNAPS and EPVIDEO ranges have surge protectors with high flow capacities. Their batteries can withstand high operating temperatures. The EPV4 range even has a sunshield that withstands surface temperatures encountered in the Middle East today. Its power supply can be completed with a solar panel to reduce the energy bill.
optimizing packaging
Taking the example of the EPVIDEO range, by 
taking into account the materials used and their resistance to shocks, we have been able to improve the behavior of products subject to mechanical stress. Depending on the weight of the packaged product, the drop resistance requirement could also be adjusted. Finally, the analysis of transport constraints allowed us to find the necessary and sufficient resistance of the packaging, and to choose totally recyclable materials, eliminating the polyethylene foams usually used, which were sent to landfill.
The benefits for customers are twofold: on the one hand, the size of the packaged product has been reduced, allowing for easier transport from the customer's warehouse to the installation site. On the other hand, it is no longer necessary to sort out the different materials used for packaging the product at the end of the job, as only cardboard is now used.
Enabling repair
Although the number of products that fail in a year is extremely small, a few hundred PPM, we are focusing our research on identifying the components with the shortest life spans and the cost-effective ways to replace them. This would allow us to extend the life of the products by allowing them to be replaced on site or in the factory.
Another line of research consists of providing latitude at the design stage to improve the product, or make its functions more flexible. It will then be possible to update it to modify its characteristics or integrate new functions, to maintain its relevance in the face of evolving needs. A sort of programmed obsolescence in reverse: a delayed obsolescence in a way.
Facilitate recycling
Separating the elements of an electronic board is not easy. The solutions considered must not affect the reliability of the equipment and introduce a higher mortality rate. This is why we have decided to easily dismantle the main functions of our products: electronics, batteries, plastics, metals.
To offer you sustainable products
The objective of our new developments is to offer our customers durable products, i.e. 1- whose design life is at least twice that of previous generations, 2- that can be repaired, i.e. that the elements with a shorter life span can be changed, 3- that can be updated, in order to adapt its mission or improve its characteristics, and finally 4- that can be recycled in order to recover the elements or materials that can be used in other products.
By meeting these objectives, our products will consume far fewer resources for the same service rendered.
Related subjects:
Why SLAT decided to act for Environment
Our concrete actions to reduce Carbon footprint