Electrical appliances should be cheaper to run and last longer under new rules

MSE_Emily

Electrical appliances, including fridges, washing machines and televisions, are expected to be cheaper to run, easier to repair and last longer under new rules which come into force from today.
Read the full story here:
'Electrical appliances should be cheaper to run and last longer under new rules'
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neilmcl

They may well end up being more expensive in the first place as a result.

JJ_Egan

Cheaper to run how ?? cheaper electric .

Aylesbury_Duck

JJ_Egan said:

Cheaper to run how ?? cheaper electric .

Many years ago I read of an innovation that I thought was very clever and was sure to take off.  It was a cheap sensor on fridges and freezers that detected the load on the national grid (by measuring the very small reductions in frequency that arise when the grid is under higher load) and at times of higher load, automatically cut the power.  As I understood it (and I don't know if it's still true), at times of peak demand, power generation is boosted by expensive gas turbines.  By being able to simultaneously turn off thousands or even millions of fridges or freezers at those peak periods, just for a short time, it would smooth out demand and reduce or even remove the need for the gas turbines to be employed.

In theory, that should translate to lower national energy use and cost which should filter through to consumer bills, and actual reductions in consumption for the consumer, albeit marginal of course.

I've no idea if anything ever came of it, perhaps it's in use in commercial applications, but it seemed a neat way of reducing consumption and cost, and the cost of the sensor and associated circuitry was minimal.

coffeehound

Ensuring spare parts are available for appliances is good. Making things cheaper to run can have unintended consequences though. 

born_again

Sounds good. 

So retailers are going to have to stock or be able to source parts for 10 years. Best guess is source with the obvious delays that will cause if they have to manufacture a part  So just where do the funds to do this come from? They factor that extra cost into the price of the item.
Then after the warranty has run out. You need to find someone to come and fix the broken item. So many people after say 5 years will still say. Lets dump it and buy a new more efficient one. 
Or are manufactures simply not going to bother developing more efficient units?

Perhaps it would have been a good idea to make the manufacture take the old items back to be recycled, They could then refurbish many parts. Rather than just dumped in landfill, if that is what the local council does.

Sandtree

JJ_Egan said:

Cheaper to run how ?? cheaper electric .

Havent read the article but when reading news stories about it all they were saying that 75% of appliances are now rated A++++++ or whatever the efficiency top tier is.  The proposal they were saying was to rebaseline the scale meaning most of those devices would be somewhere in the middle of the scale and therefore give them higher points to aim at.

So obviously today no difference to anything you own already or will be sold tomorrow but the anticipation is by brands being able to differentiate more by making more efficient machines it'll encourage inovation again whereas now the just getting into A++++ and the way exceeding the target look the same in the showroom

molerat

Many parts are available, if not original equipment then pattern.  The problem is not part availability but cost.  Would you pay £150  + labour to replace the drum on a £200 washing machine ?  I remember many years ago the part needed was a pennies cost special washer on a £100 + part, could easily get the part but not the washer, same applies here. Just another "seen to be doing something about it" idea.  If manufacturers were forced to repair FOC for 10 years then it would be something worth talking about. Making them easier to repair will likely make them more difficult and less energy efficient to manufacture.

JJ_Egan

Manufacturers obliged to .Presume that is UK manufacturers .
So non UK manufacturer made in China will retailers be forced not to sell their products .