Appliances - saving energy

Standby: the energy that no-one uses

On average UK households spend £35 a year each powering appliances left in standby mode. This is the energy used by certain appliances when they are not in use and not switched off at the plug. That’s quite a lot of money to spend powering your microwaves clock display!

As well as standby power, other new additions to the average household’s collection of electrical goods such as broadband modems, broadband routers, digi-boxes and cordless telephones remain using low levels of electricity when not being used. These are not items that we tend to think to turn off, but can gradually go on to consume a great deal of electricity over the year. For instance a broadband modem router can consume as much as £7 worth of electricity if left on for an entire year.

Fortunately there are a number of Energy Saving Trust Recommended products available to help cut down your standby electricity consumption, such as standby savers that allow you to easily turn all of your appliances off from standby without having to reach for the plug.

Recent regulations specify that all electronic products sold within the EU after 2010 cannot have a standby power greater than 1W, which means we won’t have to worry as much in future about the standby consumption of our products. However, whilst the average standby consumption of new products is going down, households are being filled with more and more electronic gadgets, therefor it is still worth looking at your standby energy usage throughout your home.

Size matters: the most efficient products come in small packages

Energy ratings labels on appliances are generally given to products based on size categories. The idea is to enable you to compare between two similarly sized products.

This means two differently sized appliances with the same energy rating may use quite different amounts of electricity. For instance an A rated 180-litre fridge freezer could cost only £36 a year to run whereas a larger 525-litre fridge freezer with a better A+ rating would cost £49 a year to run. That’s £13 a year more.

In trying to save energy it is therefore best to look for the product with the best energy rating for the size of product you require.

What to do with your old appliances

Making electrical items uses a lot of energy and valuable materials, including precious metals like gold and silver. Electrical equipment can also contain chemicals like lead and mercury. These chemicals can get into the environment and harm people or animals if items are not disposed of carefully.

Items which have the image of a wheelie bin with a cross (below) on them should not be disposed of using the general household rubbish collection. These items include everything from large white goods to energy saving light-bulbs. By keeping waste electrical equipment separate from other waste, the hazardous substances can be removed and other parts can be recycled rather than sent to landfill.

Disposing of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE):

If you are buying new electrical appliances, retailers are obliged by law to either:

• take your old appliances off you for free in store;
• tell you where you can take your old item for recycling free of charge.

Many retailers offer collection of old appliances from your home, although they are not obliged to do this.

Alternatively you can take your old equipment to your nearest WEEE recycling point,- or ask for your local authority to collect your bulky items – some may charge for this service.

Go to the Recycing now site to find your nearest WEEE recycling point >