Sust-it Blog

We’ve now optimised sust-it’s energy efficiency site for you lucky iPhone owners, it’s now fast and easy to browse over 3000 thousand products on the move. The new menus work just like your iPod touch or iPhone and all the graphics have been scaled down for fast loading. You can now checkout the energy efficiency of washing machines, TVs or fridges when out shopping or travelling, see electricity running costs over the year, or what they use in standby. Comparing the potential savings of buying energy electricals, or compare retailers best deals with kelkoo’s price comparison site – is easy when you’ve sust-it!

There seems to be an urban myth surrounding how much electricity your TVs and Hi-Fi’s consume in standby. The latest Flat-screen TVs, DVD players consume less power in standby (0.6w or costing 63p per year to run) than some of the Standby Savers themselves (1w or £1.05 per year to run). Infact, the most energy hungry equipment under your television are the Satellite / Digital Set-Top Box and DVD/VHS hard disc recorders, which you’re not meant to switch off anyway as they update programme schedules and software in the wee hours, or have clocks.

So what’s the payback on standby savers? If you plug in four boxes all consuming 0.6 watts = £2.52 less (running the standby saver) £1.05 = £1.47 per year. Cost to buy the standby saver £21.95 payback nearly 15 years!

Here are some simple energy saving tips that don’t cost a mint

• When replacing Electricals or Appliances buy the most energy efficient ones you can afford and make huge savings long-term!
• Become Energy Aware – Buy an energy meter, or read your meter regularly.
• As your bulb blow replace them with energy saving bulbs.
• Put your Satellite / Digital Set-Top and videos on a separate extension socket from your other equipment, and switch off the rest at night, preferably at the plug.
• Shutdown your PC when not in use and switch off at the wall, as some computers and peripherals still draw power even when off!

Are Standby savers a waste of cash?

We’ve now added standby power consumption figures to our database. At first glance they may look like very low figures, however when you multiply this by 24 hours a day, 365 days per year it all adds up! sust-it would like to rank all the products by their combined standby and in-use energy usage. The only problem is that not all manufacturers seem to reveal both figures.

With eight out of ten consumers trying to save energy on a day-to-day basis, there is great potential to encourage people to focus some of their green efforts on life at home.

The National Consumer Council‘s new shopping survey, “Information blackout: why electronics consumers are in the dark”, found just how little information is available when it comes to energy efficiency.

The survey highlights the complete lack of data from major retailers and manufacturers. Which is was why the sust-it websites came about, due to my own frustration on the lack of power consumption figures. The quotes below are from retailer’s staff, when asked by NCC about energy efficiency of the products on sale.

“I think you can change the settings on the laptop so it turns onto sleep mode quickly.” (Comet)

“If you turn it off, rather than leaving it on standby, it will use less energy.” (John Lewis, talking about DVD players)

“Most modern models are energy-efficient so it’s not a problem.” (Currys.digital, talking about televisions)

“Well, all electronic products use energy. They’re all the same.” (Tesco, when asked about laptops)

“We don’t have that sort of information on our system. You could try getting in touch with the manufacturer” (Debenhams customer service)

“If you go into a store, a member of staff will be happy to get in touch with the manufacturer for you” (John Lewis customer helpline)

Quotes taken from the National Consumer Council’s report: “Information blackout: why electronics consumers are in the dark”.

I hope the sust-it database will become a useful tool for the 81 per cent of consumers who are trying to save energy on a day-to-day basis.

• National Consumer Council Press Release
• Click here to download the report (126KB PDF).
• BBC Radio 4 “Business Update” report (free RealPlayer required)