Still getting into the groove of posting such things as 'News' without too much provenace checking or editorialising, but I'm getting there.
I actually owe these guys a product review* anyway, so here you go, hot off the press... releases. All due cautions/caveats for info posted as supplied.
Brits are wasting valuable energy by leaving home appliances on standby
People are still contributing to the four million tonnes of extra carbon dioxide emissions per year caused by standby power according to survey conducted by Bye Bye Standby.
64 per cent of the 1000 people surveyed said they have more than ten appliances plugged in at home at any one time. It has been measured that around 10 per cent of the average household bill is wasted through gadgets left on when not in use.
The survey also asked consumers to select which of the following appliances they think have a standby power (ie. washing machines, televisions, tumble dryers and dishwashers). The correct answer is in-fact that ALL of the appliances use a standby power when they are not in use.
Not surprisingly, the survey revealed that the majority of respondents (90 per cent) knew that televisions have a standby power. However, a large number of people questioned didn’t pick out some of the worst standby offenders. 77 per cent had no clue that tumble dryers can guzzle as much as 38 per cent of their power whilst waiting at the end of a cycle. Equally as confusing, 67 per cent didn’t regard dishwashers as having a standby mode – a worrying finding as most are turned on at the end of the day and left on all night. Washing machines can use around 20 per cent of their normal electricity requirement on standby, and in contrast 66 per cent of people in the survey didn’t even know that a washing machine has a standby power!
Not all products have an obvious standby power, which is where the confusion lies. If it has an external power supply it will use electricity even when off.
Here's a plug (sorry), as they deserve it:
Bye Bye Standby is an energy saving kit for the home which allows you to control appliances with the aid of a remote control. An innovative new web based system has also just been launched to allow users to control home appliances from a remote location via the Internet.
What appliances are the worst standby offenders?
Dishwashers left on at the end of their cycle consume 70 per cent of the power used when they are running.
The average television is left on standby for up to 17.5 hours a day. Last year Britain's 62 million television sets consumed about eight per cent of their energy consumption in standby mode.
Washing machines use just under 20 per cent of their normal electricity requirement on standby.
Tumble-dryers can use 38 per cent of power while waiting at the end of a cycle.
If lights were turned off when not in use it would prevent 375,000 tons of CO2 emissions and save £55million in bills.
There is little difference between the power requirement of digital receivers when they are being used and on standby.
Other appliances with high standby power are cordless telephones, radios and stereos.
*Meanwhile, you can always try Which?
No comments:
Post a Comment