If your kitchen is an absolute snake pit for appliance cables, a trade group is working to end your woes. The Wireless Power Consortium, known for creating a universal wireless charging standard for mobile phones, has finalized similar magnetic induction charging technology for kitchen appliances call base. For people like me who live in a small apartment with little cooking space, a personal Ki charging pad holds promise.
The New Jersey-based Wireless Power Alliance is a multinational group whose members include the world’s largest technology and appliance manufacturers. The alliance is best known for together and Qi 2 Wireless charging standard. That’s why you can buy a third-party charging pad, Now, not all (we’re looking at you, Google) will work, but Many mobile devices.
The same idea goes with the Ki, but this form of magnetic induction charging supports higher wattages, up to 2.2 kW. WPC marketing director Paul Golden told Gizmodo at IFA 2024 in Berlin that they are not aware of any device of this size that cannot draw enough power from the Ki standard. According to the group’s white paper, the standard should apply to appliances of many sizes, from air fryers to blenders and even saucepans. Equipment that meets the standards needs to operate at 90% or higher efficiency as equivalent products with power cords. The alliance claims that the loss of usable power caused by such wireless charging is “negligible.”
There are many benefits to doing this. For one, it reduces cord clutter. This also means there is less danger of the power cord fraying or any exposed wires shorting out. WPC claims that the Ki will still work if you accidentally spill water on the charging surface. The alliance further stated that the standard requires that the surface or charging end of a device should never be too hot to touch. If the device is removed, the charging surface will remain warm, but not to a dangerous degree.
Like Qi2, Ki uses NFC communication to tell the charging device how much power to provide. As we saw in the WPC demo, you need to place the device right in the center of the charging pad. If your unit is left half-on or half-closed, it won’t be able to accept power or recognize the board beneath it.
Ki has some versatility. It can be built into new cooktops, including Ki charging on one side and induction on the other. Another option is an installable charging station that homeowners can install beneath their countertops. It is rated to work into 3.8 cm or 1.4 inches of stone or synthetic counter space. Of course, you’ll either have to remember where you placed the wireless charging pad under the counter or draw a big X to mark the spot yourself. Ki cannot pass through any metal countertops.
This technology is still new, and member companies still need to build supporting technology into their product lines and devices. Unless you’re sitting on a pile of cash or are building a new home, you probably won’t see Ki-enabled countertops for some time. However, we are likely to see a single Ki pad, almost like a single induction burner with a power cord, sooner or later. Even if you don’t have a built-in Ki under your counter, such devices have the potential to reduce clutter of wires in your kitchen. WPC tells us it has created a prototype of a single Ki pad, although it didn’t show it off at the Berlin demo.
Removable boards may also be more versatile than ones built into the countertop. I’m not the only home cook who likes to get all his settings At the same time it is ready, although the work space is very limited. I like to keep the food processor out of the way so I can move it if necessary.
We still need to wait for companies to come on board. Kim tells us Several companies are already working on creating their own Ki-enabled devices. The first to join appears to be appliance maker Midea and its upcoming Celestial Flex series. These include blenders, steamers and kettles, but there is currently no information on availability or pricing. this WPC showed off some other Ki-enabled designs from Philips, but those devices were just test models and not quite ready for prime time.
The WPC still needs to release the specifications this fall. Manufacturers can start submitting products for testing until the end of 2024, so we could start seeing these on shelves soon.
