By Nick Heath, 14 July 2008 10:48
NEWS
Squeezing more energy out of power supplies will help power more than one million homes, the government claims.
Efficiency improvements to the greediest home appliances - including power supplies for laptops, mobile phones and printers - can save enough energy to power 1.5 million homes, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
silicon.com Public Sector
Get the latest public sector news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the PS newsletter today!
In its Sustainable Products and Materials report, Defra says businesses have already made progress towards achieving these savings.
Climate change minister Joan Ruddock said in a statement: "Many businesses are already taking positive steps to reduce the environmental impact of their products, and are seeing the real benefits this can have, both for them and their customers.
"But as fuel prices rise, commodities become scarcer, and families are feeling the pinch, it becomes ever more important for businesses to use resources more efficiently throughout the supply chain, those that don't will miss out on potential savings, as well as big opportunities for growth."
The government also announced an initiative with retailers to take inefficient light bulbs off the shelves by 2011, claiming energy saving light bulbs can reduce lighting costs by up to £100 over the lifetime of the bulb.
Comments
There are 2 comments. Join the discussion
1. Karen Challinor
from an alternate universe.....
*caviar and truffle stained note leaked from whichever cloud the government happens to be sitting on at the moment*
"Hey guys, the economy is like reeeaal slooooooow at the moment, no one is like spending any money, because like food prices or something has gone up a bit, i dunno
the electrical stuff makers are telling me they aren't selling enough, but hey their lunches, excellent!
I suggest we tell people their old electrical stuff is like baaaaaad man and maybe pass a bill or something that makes them replace it with new good stuff, i dunno stick badges on the old stuff to say it's good, paper badges! biodegradeable paper badges! get the eco friendly guys on board for a change
that ought to get the economy thing moving a bit
and hey if anyone goes past my second home could you check the tv is off, I can't remember if I turned it off .... and anybody seen my laptop ? I'm sure i had it in the taxi ...."
2. Tony Mudd
How about forcing the manufacturers to make stuff that doesn't use too much power.
My 20 year old stereo takes 0.5w in standby.
My new DAB radio takes 6w in standby.
If they did something about people selling crap designs, then, as stuff gets replaced, the power wasted should reduce.
p.s. the new radio now gets turned off at the plug.