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Zero Power on Standby?
Created on 06 May 2008 13:26
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Electronics Weekly reports on a computer monitor that consumes no power on standby. This could save a lot of electricity when mass-deployed. I'm sure that it couldn't be retro-fitted, however.
This is a big problem with consumer electronics at the current time: a new energy-saving feature that won't be added to existing devices, rendering those devices obsolete and destined for the scrap heap. The electronics industry has a vested interest in building obsolescence into its product roadmap, just to ensure that new sales continue. It should pay more attention to upgradability and allowing consumers to plug in enhancements as they are developed.
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Know How Much Electricity Your Appliances Use
Created on 16 April 2008 21:22
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The Kill-a-Watt is available from the REUK.co.uk shop, for £19.99 plus £1.95 UK mainland postage. You plug it into a mains socket, then plug an appliance into it, turn it on and it tells you the voltage, current and power consumption, plus other measurements.
Use it to see how much that old fridge of yours is consuming, how much your PC/monitor uses when in standby, or what your broadband router draws.
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EDDs Not Made Available After All?
Created on 28 February 2008 14:13
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I've just had a response back from my electricity provider regarding free provision of EDDs. Here is what Amy Harrison, Customer Care Advisor of Good Energy, had to say:
Thank you very much for your enquiry.
You are indeed correct in thinking that Electricity Display Devices are
now a product on the market.
It was an initial government proposal to ask all energy suppliers to
provide their customer's with one. However they have not followed it
through and it is unfortunately unlikely to be the case. I do not know
the reason why they detracted this proposal.
I would however advise that you type in Electricity Display Devices into
a search engine and see what the results bring up.
I'm sorry we could not help you more on this but I wish you luck in your
search for this product.
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Smart Meters and EDDs
Created on 28 January 2008 21:00
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The Energy Retail Association has published advice on Smart Meters, which are gas and electricity meters that provide instant usage data to the consumer and supplier. These meters are on trial in the UK at the moment, but the plan is for every home to have one evenually - that's 45 million.
It is hoped that consumers will be more prudent with energy usage if they see how much they are using in real time. They will also allow timely, accurate information on energy consumption to be fed back to the energy supplier, which will mean an end to estimated bills.
Electricity Display Devices (EDDs) give a real-time, approximate readout of electricity consumption, for the benefit of the consumer only, and are not used for calculating bills. From May 2008 the Government plans to supply these devices free to any household that wants one, by contacting their electricity supplier.
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Electricity Price Hikes: Renewables Too!
Created on 27 January 2008 21:23
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So there isn't a cartel operating in the UK energy market? Good Energy states on its Prices Page that its domestic electricity prices are rising by an average of 13.2%. It states that:
The cost to Good Energy of buying electricity on the wholesale markets has increased dramatically - the wholesale cost of electricity for 2008 has increased by 66% in comparison with 2007. This is largely due to insecurity in supply this winter, which is having the affect of buoying up future prices. For example, several nuclear power stations were powered down at short notice and have been offline for a sustained period of time affecting the whole market. (ref: www.british-energy.com) In addition, Good Energy is facing increases in its distribution and transmission costs (i.e. the wires we use to deliver power to your home).
and it continues:
Renewable energy prices are affected by the wholesale electricity market. Renewable electricity represents only 4.7% of the UK’s electricity supply at the moment and is traded on the same market as traditional electricity. This means its costs fluctuate in line with fossil fuel costs. As the renewable industry grows this will change as renewables will help to add security of supply to the UK’s power network, and could help reduce the fluctuation in UK prices.
Okay, so it's the wholesale trading market to blame. Let's see what British Energy have to say for themselves. In their First Half Results (07/08), it quotes a few interesting statistics (from the SEA Final Report):
- [Page 7,9] Overall electricity production of 30.7TWh, sold at £0.038/kWh (£0.036/kWh in 2006).
- [Page 13] Renewables electricity production was 0.6TWh in H1 2007, around the same as in 2006. The cost however fell from £24m in 2006 to £17m in 2007, making the wholesale unit price £0.04/kWh in 2006, and £0.028/kWh in 2007.
There are problems here. Firstly, These figures indicate that British Energy only has 1.95% of its energy coming from renewable sources, less than half of Good Energy's claimed 4.7%. Does this mean that British Energy produces very little of the country's renewable electricity, or has Good Energy got it wrong? Secondly, the unit cost of renewable electricity plunged between 2006 and 2007, making it much cheaper than the overall unit price. So how come the unit price to the Good Energy consumer (only buying renewables of course) has gone up?
I think that the only explanation is that British Energy operates a cartel which allows it to set prices arbitrarily, but who are the other major players in the electricity generation arena to support this cartel?
To make a complaint against your energy supplier, you need to use the energywatch: Make a complaint form. Make sure you have raised your complaint with your energy supplier first, though! Energywatch is the body santioned by OfGem, as explained on their consumer pages.
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