Why Are Manufacturers Not Quoting The Standby Power?
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.
December 30th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Maybe the answer is there are some vested interests involved. What role do the power companies play in all this - it seems strange they charge less per unit the more electricity you use which is inconsistent with energy saving.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:39 am
I hadn’t realised this was the case. I thought had never even crossed my mind to measure the standby current. I think I’m going to buy a meter and see how much I’m wasting a year. I agree with big saver, there probably is a vested interest in not publishing the “whole truth”.