EnergyMiser

Probably because they realise that in a lot of cases it is higher than it needs to be and it is not in their interests to publicise the figures. Most people know by now that standby power consumption of electrical devices is a major contributor to energy waste and excessive electricity bills. The few examples below demonstrate how well hidden this standby problem is. The figures quoted are based on my own measurements of standby power. PIR detectors on outside lights consume between 3 and 8 Watts at a cost of up to £7 a year, A computer on standby uses between 5 and 13 Watts at a cost of up to £10 a year. A well know manufacturer’s Hi Fi uses 20 Watts at a cost of around £16 a year. An electric cooker consumes 12 Watts at a cost of around £10 a year. It also begs the question why quoting the standby power is not made mandatory as part of the governments energy saving initiatives. Maybe you can either suggest the answer or provide other examples of this type of waste. For more information on this subject take a look at this website.

For tips and advice on saving energy have a look at this website covering electricity, heating and water use. Find out just how much you can save for very little investment. Contribute your own ideas.

In November we purchased a new washing machine - energy use was a major consideration. Comparing how much water each machine used was possible but not simple due to needing to allow for the different load sizes - why can’ water use be expressed as litres per kilogram (or something similar). It was impossible to find out the standby power (for machines with timers) despite in two cases contacting the manufacturers. The staff in shops we looked in seemed clueless about the whole subject of energy saving apart from pointing to the energy rating system displayed on each machine. We had similar experiences a few months ago buying a dishwasher. A check on a few random other appliances showed a similar picture.

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