Sust-it Blog

We are constantly improving the functionality of our site, which is hopefully making it easier for you to choose the best energy saving electricals. The latest addition to the site is our ‘TOP ENERGY SAVERS’. These products have been carefully selected from our database for their overall electricity saving performance and efficiency. This makes comparing the most energy efficient products even easier.

The facility to compare the costs of buying each of the products in our database has also been enabled using Kelkoo’s Price Comparison website. So saving both energy and money should be even easier!

In some ways I’m pleased that Sony has won the latest format wars. Why? Because they should’ve won the first format war of JVC’s VHS tape format with Betamax. The Sony tape format was far superior and became the backbone of the professional video production industry for over 25 years as the BetaCam derivative.

So what has the cost been to the environment? The good news is that this HD format war has been won quickly and high definition player sales have so far, been disappointing. The bad news is that there could be over 50,000 units sold in Europe – all potentially destined to be dumped. Let’s hope they all get recycled!

Walk in to any electrical shop in the UK and you will struggle to see a Washing Machine that’s not A rated for energy efficiency. It’s a pity that does not apply to tumble dryers as Hotpoint V3D01 (and others) are still producing a machine with an F rating! What’s even more surprising, is that when we tried to track down the energy consumption figures from their website, it quotes a figure of 3.73 kWh/cycle – which could potentially cost £172 a year to run! Not bad for a £140 tumble dryer.

More research at our local Curry’s reveals a figure of 2.73 kWh/cycle, according to its energy efficiency label (F rated), while at Comets’ superstore the same model is labelled as a ‘D’ rated at 1.89 kWh/cycle. Confused? Which is correct? Watch this space!

You needn’t be now, as we’ve updated our database of washing machines so you can spot the real talent.

If you walk into most electrical stores you will see a vast array of white (and now silver) washing machines, all displaying the same ‘A’ ratings. To help you make a more informed purchasing decision, we’ve taken the manufacturers energy usage figures and divided this by the drum size – so giving you the price of electricity used per kg of washing. The water consumption figure has also been taken into account when we rank the machines. It certainly has changed the rankings dramatically and makes spotting the real winner easier if you want to save energy.

Good news for the environment and Sony’s sales I suspect as the new PS3 40gb becomes more energy efficient and cheaper. A reworking of chips and the hardware architecture means the new version of this ‘must have’ gaming kit runs cooler and quieter than the original 60gb version. Backward compatibility with old PS2 games has gone, but that seems a small price to pay for a more peaceful living room and less stressful electricity bills. Plus, this console still doubles up as Blu-ray Hi-definition DVD player, which could save you having yet another energy consuming box under your TV.

Good news for the site this month as Epson and the Bosch group, which includes Siemens and Neff, have both registered with sust-it to update the site with their latest product information.

sust-it offers manufacturers a great opportunity to showcase their latest energy efficient products to thousands of potential new customers – it’s very, very simple to set up an account. Once registered you can then upload new product details and photos online as and when they become available. If you are a manufacturer or retailer with your own branded goods and would like to start keeping potential new customers informed of your latest power saving developments, then please do register today. You could be missing out on thousands of new customers each month!

I’ve just found out it’s International Car Free Day this Saturday – what a great idea. I’m as guilty as everyone else in taking the easy option and getting in the car. It’s only when initiatives like this come along that it makes us think there may be other options to getting around.

The European Mobility Week is trying to encourage us all to get involved; it runs from 16th to the 22nd September. 55 cities and towns across the UK are participating this year. It’s a pity there has not been more coverage in the UK media, as I’m sure congestion free day would be great news for everyone, as a step to changing our car dependency

One-stop shop for expert buying advice online www.best4reviews.com teams up with energy advisory site Sust-it.net to offer visitors sound advice on the eco-friendliness of new technology.

Responding to consumer concern about the environmental effects the products we purchase and use everyday really have – and how we can save both money and planet by buying more efficiently – the Net’s newest buyers guide Best4Reviews.com has teamed up with environmentally sustainable energy saving product guide Sust-it.net.

Where applicable, practical test reports on Best4Reviews will feature an information link to the same product on Sust-it, where visitors can additionally discover how energy efficient it is. For more info ‘click here’

Changing your bulbs to energy efficient ones can dramatically reduce your energy bills. Sust-it have teamed up with ‘better generation’ to offer you very competitively priced energy saving and renewable energy products, helping us all do our bit to tackle climate change at home. Just follow this link to see how much money you could save by installing energy saving lighting. The payback time is quite quick and don’t forget they last much much longer than conventional bulbs.

Now you can find out, as we’ve added yet more functionality to our site with the inclusion of European electricity tariffs. These have been taken from the dti Quarterly Energy Prices index. So where is the cheapest place to run a washing machine? According to the dti figures it’s Greece at 7.17 eurocents per unit and the most expensive is Italy 23.175 eurocents per unit. It would be interesting to know if the Italians are more energy aware.