Your home's most power hungry appliances
Televisions and computers can be some of the most power hungry appliances in your home, yet they are not required to have energy consumption ratings displayed on them in-store.
According to a report from Winton Sustainable Research Strategies, some televisions can consume more power than a small refrigerator, while computers can draw more power than whitegoods such as washing machines and clothes dryers.
Consumer group Choice recently tested a variety of household electronic equipment.
They found that the Playstation 3 consumed the most power when in use, followed by the X Box 360 gaming console. Plasma televisions came in third place for highest energy consumption, using over four times more power than an analogue television set, followed by desktop computers.
To help cut power costs, consumers are urged to leave appliances such as these in standby mode when not in use.
The Winton report, which also surveyed consumers, found that support for energy efficiency ratings on televisions and computers was very high.
The majority of people surveyed said they would be ‘quite likely’ to take such a rating into account when making their decision to purchase.
In Australia, whitegoods must carry an approved energy efficiency label. The star ratings label – which features a rating out of six stars – allows this information to be clearly taken in at a glance.
According to Choice, the system has also encouraged manufacturers to increase the energy efficiency of their goods.
A Federal government committee is currently working on the introduction of energy ratings for computer equipment. Energy ratings for television sets are due to be introduced later this year.
With these products putting the greatest strain on household energy costs, displaying their rating will enable consumers to make significant changes to their energy consumption at home.
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