Saving energy - turning things off at the plug

mjlc

Now, now,et's no lt get heated. If you want to save money, electricity, the planet.... do what you feel is best.

My concern in this eco argument is the unnecessary use of street lighting throughout the silent hours. If the local authorities (or whoever has control of the switch) were to turn off these light and greenhouse gas polluters between 11pm and 5am then we'd save carbon emissions and council tax (I have to assume this last point as no one can tell me who pays for it all - surely it's not free electricity?!)

Yukko

mjlc wrote:

My concern in this eco argument is the unnecessary use of street lighting throughout the silent hours. If the local authorities (or whoever has control of the switch) were to turn off these light and greenhouse gas polluters between 11pm and 5am then we'd save carbon emissions and council tax (I have to assume this last point as no one can tell me who pays for it all - surely it's not free electricity?!)

Street lighting is there for a reason, to prevent accidents, crime and anxiety. You may consider them silent hours but that doesn't mean there aren't some people awake.

As I said in another post, electricty is cheap at night because the power generators *want you to use it* Power generation is a continuous process, the biggest stations cannot be turned on and off at will. Flexible power is inefficient power, you may cause more pollution by turning off all the street lights.

You would probably get to see the stars though )

Yukko

Just for interest you can view the national grid real-time demand here:
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Data/Realtime/Demand/demand24.htm

Switch off your TV. See if it makes a difference

Wig

A_penny_saved wrote:

Lamp said:

4) use regular bulbs in rooms where the light will only be on for a short time. Energy saving bulbs have a big draw on electricity while they 'warm up', not terribly useful in the bathroom or the tool room!


Thanks for your suggestions. I have changed all my lights to energy saving and switch them off as I go along - so that means that each time I go up or down stairs I am adding significantly to my bill. Would I be cheaper off leaving it on all evening?

Lamp was wrong, it makes no difference on for short times or on for longer times, except the energy used whilst it is on. So if you're not in a room turn it off. If you can handle, having to wait while an energy bulb comes to brightness (what 40 secs) then you can use them in bathrooms and tool rooms with no bother and they will still be cheaper than filament bulbs.

Wig

gromituk wrote:

Moreover, there may now be strict regulations for standby power consumption of new devices, but this is hardly relevant to all those appliances which are in service already.

There aren't strict regulations, they are voluntary, hence not many manufacturers are doing it.

gromituk

Wig wrote:

Lamp was wrong, it makes no difference on for short times or on for longer times, except the energy used whilst it is on.

Unfortunately power cycling also shortens their lives, and I am guessing that this effect is more severe for the ones which come on instantly.

savvy

Yukko wrote:

Just for interest you can view the national grid real-time demand here:
http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Data/Realtime/Demand/demand24.htm

Switch off your TV. See if it makes a difference

Nice one, what on earth happens on a Friday night?? Is that all the pubs and clubs firing up??:rotfl::rotfl:

Pound

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd post a reply instead of starting a new thread.

Once when I was working in a petrol station the power was cutting out every 30 minutes. By the end of the shift the till recieipts were printing the name of a different company, sales were going through at the wrong price, etc. I think this shows that sometimes things being turned off and on causes weird things to happen with electronics.

I've just got one of those energy saving plugs that powers everything off when the TV is turned off rather than leaving them on standby. Yesterday the TV guide for the Freeview receiver looked different and looked like it was some kind of 'touch screen' menu for a completely different model. Eventually it went back to normal but I'm guessing turning it off causes it to change settings.

I'm wondering whether an energy saving plug will end up costing more money as appliances break down.

Mankysteve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRQB2YXUxvY take a look at rational look at saving power in the home.

Wig

Old thread but I wanted to note this:

I have bought an power monitor a while back and recently tested some stuff

A new LG 26 LCD TV 26LH2000 (I think) uses
0W switched off at the wall or with the on/off switch at the back
21W in standby
75W in normal use
65W in economy mode (screen goes darker)
41W in super economy mode (screen goes even more dark)
38W - 41W in economy mode - sound only no screen on at all.


A Brand new Panasonic Viera Plasma 40 inch ? dunno the model but it's something like PTX40.....
0W off at the wall
21W not in stand-by but 'off' using the on/off button at the back - Unbelieveable really!
41W in stand-by
160W - 250W in normal use fluctuates.

Old CRT 21" TV must be circa 1995
0W at the wall
9W in Standby
50W in normal use

Scan DVD player about 10 years old
0W off at the walll
7 - 9W in standby
23W switched on, whether playing or not.