Power saving invention - what happened?

dazzer21

A while ago on Dragons Den, there was what I thought was a phenomenal invention that I haven't heard anything of since. It was a plug/switch which completely wiped out the need for any appliances (TV etc) to be left on standby overnight. It enabled said device to be switched back on by using a remote (after all, who presses an on-off button on the front of a telly these days?!) from being in stasis, using no electricity whatsoever.

It was brilliant - if all the manufacturers adopted it as a standard feature, it would wipe out global warming overnight (OK, slight exaggeration, but you can see the benefits of it!)

Anyone heard of its existence ever since?

penrhyn

A quick Google provided this link:

http://www.standby-saver.co.uk/standby_saver_benefits.htm

There are lots of these supposed money saving gadgets around so i guess they are finding it difficult to break into the mass market.
TV manufacturers have also reduced the amount of standby power used to less than a watt/hour.

Time has moved on and the humble plastic bag is now the latest cause of global warming.

slipp_digby

I think when they re-visted them the invenotrs had pulled out of the deal with the dragons and got backing from a private investor instead.

Unfortunately they may now have missed the opportunity.

One invention which has disappeared is the fridge power controller. It detected when the national grid was under heavy demand (like the break at coronation street) and turned off the fridge compressors for a small amount of time.

They estimated if everyone had it fitted they could take nearly a whole power station offline as they woudl not need to cope with such a huge surge in peak demand. Now that IS genius. but where has it got to?

wizard5353

There are hundreds of great eco design ideas that could be added to household appliances but as they cost money and time in R & D and the overall price of the product then increases no business is ever going to add them. Until the government makes it law like they have done in the past with things like adding plugs to all electrical goods then it's just not going to happen.

The onus is on you as the consumer to vote with your cash and don't expect too many people to go out and do that with the cost of living these days.

A good site with a few nice ideas I know of is; http://www.nigelsecostore.com/ it might not have the best prices but if you spot something good just do a price-runner search or what not.

Ken68

Was give one the other day, Dazzer, courtesy of EnergySavingsTrust and Eon, whilst coming out of Focus.
Called 'PowerDown', intelligent power management.
Plug it into the wall socket, then computer plug into the master socket and then two peripheral sockets, and when switching off the computer, powers down and up again when comp is switched on.

penrhyn

slipp_digby wrote: »

I think when they re-visted them the invenotrs had pulled out of the deal with the dragons and got backing from a private investor instead.

Unfortunately they may now have missed the opportunity.

One invention which has disappeared is the fridge power controller. It detected when the national grid was under heavy demand (like the break at coronation street) and turned off the fridge compressors for a small amount of time.

They estimated if everyone had it fitted they could take nearly a whole power station offline as they woudl not need to cope with such a huge surge in peak demand. Now that IS genius. but where has it got to?

I'm assuming its the Savaplug that you are referring to, trouble is it is only compatible with older fridges so yet again technology has marched on.
I doubt whether fridge compressors cause a surge in electricity demand surley on a country wide basis they are switching on and off randomly and represent a steady state load.
Peak demand surges that you are talking about are caused by people switching on their electric kettles at once, in ad breaks and the like.
To meet this demand you cannot simply turn on another powerstation, they don't work like that.( or pray for wind for those eco enthusiasts out there) Pumped storage power stations are used like the one at Dinorwig North Wales that can run up to peak output in a matter of seconds.
http://www.fhc.co.uk/dinorwig.htm

slipp_digby

penrhyn wrote: »

I'm assuming its the Savaplug that you are referring to, trouble is it is only compatible with older fridges so yet again technology has marched on.
I doubt whether fridge compressors cause a surge in electricity demand surley on a country wide basis they are switching on and off randomly and represent a steady state load.
Peak demand surges that you are talking about are caused by people switching on their electric kettles at once, in ad breaks and the like.
To meet this demand you cannot simply turn on another powerstation, they don't work like that.( or pray for wind for those eco enthusiasts out there) Pumped storage power stations are used like the one at Dinorwig North Wales that can run up to peak output in a matter of seconds.
http://www.fhc.co.uk/dinorwig.htm

No its no Savaplug. This is entirely differnet but I think you are missing the point:-

Reducing the 'baseload' of fridges for a short period helps to smooth the spike in demand caused by kettles being turned on
AND
prior to the kettles being switched a power station or stations currently have to run without generating (wasting fuel and producing CO2) purely to be able to meet the spike in demand quicily enough.

you reduce the baseload, you reduce the size of the spike and the amount of standby you need.

Even with intermittent operation, think how many fridge compressors are operating now in this country and do the math. Quite ingenious really.

geordie_joe

Ken68 wrote: »

Was give one the other day, Dazzer, courtesy of EnergySavingsTrust and Eon, whilst coming out of Focus.
Called 'PowerDown', intelligent power management.
Plug it into the wall socket, then computer plug into the master socket and then two peripheral sockets, and when switching off the computer, powers down and up again when comp is switched on.

I got one too. Don't use it as my computer and peripherals are plugged into a 6 way extension socket that has a switch. It is also hung on the wall in a convenient place, so I can easily switch everything of with the flick of a switch.

Much better than turning two peripherals off but leaving the computer on!

penrhyn

slipp_digby wrote: »

No its no Savaplug. This is entirely differnet but I think you are missing the point:-

Reducing the 'baseload' of fridges for a short period helps to smooth the spike in demand caused by kettles being turned on
AND
prior to the kettles being switched a power station or stations currently have to run without generating (wasting fuel and producing CO2) purely to be able to meet the spike in demand quicily enough.

you reduce the baseload, you reduce the size of the spike and the amount of standby you need.

Even with intermittent operation, think how many fridge compressors are operating now in this country and do the math. Quite ingenious really.

Have you got a link to an article on this device?

mute_posting

penrhyn wrote: »

Have you got a link to an article on this device?

http://www.dynamicdemand.co.uk/pdf_fridge_test.pdf

The savaplug you refered to earlier was something to limit the power available to the compressor (in "old fashioned" fridges that have NO electronics!) creating a saving of (claimed) 20%

The idea above requires simple electronics to monitor the frequency of the supply - nominally this is 50Hz, but when the grid gets loaded up suddenly, the generators slow down slightly thus the frequency drops. The electronics claim to sense this and cut the power to the attached device thus "releasing" capacity back to the grid.

MP

moonrakerz

mute_posting wrote: »

The idea above requires simple electronics to monitor the frequency of the supply - nominally this is 50Hz, but when the grid gets loaded up suddenly, the generators slow down slightly thus the frequency drops. The electronics claim to sense this and cut the power to the attached device thus "releasing" capacity back to the grid.

and I've got fairies at the bottom of my garden !