Household Appliances
Overview | Energy Star(R) certified appliances | American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy | Household Appliances Further Reading
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Whether it's a computer, TV, fridge, hair dryer or whatever, they all use electricity and many use water. They also all get made from natural resources, get transported around the world, packaged up etc.
There are some basic rules to follow around “things” in the house:
- Don't buy what you don't need – the environmental footprint of not bringing something into your house is usually lower – this doesn't hold true for replacing things like ancient fridges or washing machines that are inefficient.
- Turn things off. Nothing saves electricity as well. Even if you're TV or computer can go into standby, it still uses some electricity.
- If you want to keep things on standby, research how much power they use – the difference of the same type and quality of device can be staggering – for example on 42” LCD displays (to go extravagant), they can range from 1W to 70W's usage in standby mode!
- Research how much power things use when on – again for the same kind of device, such as the LCD described above, the usage can range from 100-250W during usage.
- Buy water based devices that use less water or electricity – beware of Silver Nano technology though - read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Nano
- Use nature where possible – hang washing to dry instead of using a tumble dryer - even if it means clothes horses inside in winter (assuming the moisture does not pose a health problem to the family).
- A side note on appliances – if you have a noisy appliance (fridge etc), move it away from walls, and onto a concrete floor – the sound will travel less (The Natural House Book, pg 108-111).
Energy Star(R) certified appliances
Your computer monitor probably came with a sticker or picture on the
box of a star, with EnergyStar® written next to it. This is a
fantastic program from the US that rates appliances according to low
energy use principles. Check out all the compliant devices, and next
time you need something (like that 42” LCD, but only after the old
TV actually exploded and couldn't be repaired any more), look up
which ones they've certified:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.hm_index
To understand how bad the manufacturing process of electronics is, read this http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/cutting-edge-contamination-a
Another certification to check for is RoHS
http://www.rohs.gov.uk/
which covers the level of heavy metals allowed in electronics
It's also worthwhile to see if this gadget works out - a simple way to make your fridge more efficient: http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/ story/0,,2036183,00.html
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
At http://www.aceee.org , under http://www.aceee.org/buildings/resappl_type/index.htm , they actually TEST appliances and put efficiency ratings and costings to them – in $US of course. Also many of the appliances aren't sold here, but it's worth checking
Household Appliances Further Reading
According to BP (from when they built their new Cape Town energy efficient building):
- If you leave your computer monitor on overnight, you use as much electricity as if you were to make 800 A4 photocopies
- TV's and videos left on standby can continue to use up to at least half the amount of electricity they use when they are turned on (although most modern ones use about 1W in standby vs. 150 plus W when on)
- Lighting an empty meeting room can waste enough energy to make 1 000 cups of tea
- Overfilling an electric kettle can waste enough energy to run a television set for 26 hours