How Much Energy Does GHD Hair Straighteners Use?

Its been a while since we added products to our how much energy does section, and the first product of 2009 is for the fashionista's out there. GHD hair straighteners, are an item many can not live without, where ever they are in the world. Not only are they an essential, its a serious emergency should your bags get lost. But is this little gadget drawing enough energy to cause climate change?

Well we tested standard GHD straighteners (model ghd3) over a five minutes, the typical hair straightening time frame for medium length hair.

Initially, for the first minute of use from cold, the straighteners reached 300W, then as they warmed to temperature, this reduced to 120W, for the remainder of their use during the trial period they drew between 55W and 106W, with an average of approximately 79W.

Over the five minute period that the straighteners were used, they drew an average of 123W. This would equate to 1.6p an hour, or 0.13p per use. This equates to 56.7g of CO2 per hour use and 4.72g of CO2 per use (of five minutes).

But don't forget to switch them off or not only will they burn a hole in your work surface, maybe your pocket and the environment too.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much Energy Does a Sony PS3 Use?

It's a huge powerful machine, with a blue-ray disc player, but just how much of the national grid is this chunk of machine pulling.

Vampire Power: 2W
PS3 Menu: 107W
Scanning Disc: 107 - 119W
In Game;
Grand Theft Auto IV: 125 - 130W

Pretty shocking electricity consumption then, especially to the slimline energy consumption of the Wii, and almost four times the energy consumption of the PS2. But what worries me is that people when they are not using the Playstation 3 will leave the device on, on pause and turn the TV off.

Running your PS3 in paused mode, overnight, for say 10 hours will use 1.25kWh, about 15p, but more worryingly there will be those that leave it on 24/7, over a day using 3kWh (36p), and a year 1,095kWh (£131.40). This is also adding up in CO2 emissions, about 1.65kg of CO2/day and, 602kg of CO2/yr.

It appears the PS3 is the Hummer of the console market, and so much so, leaving it on all year would produce 100 times it's own weight in CO2. For those that already know, the PS2 was such a success it sold over 100m units worldwide. So our advice is to anyone using a Playstation 3, is to switch off, anytime your not using it, or else you will have a chunky electricity bill next time around, especially with the increased electricity costs over the last few months.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

New Energy Efficient Ad On TV Now

Ad Courtesy Of Act On CO2

A £6m TV ad campaign encouraging householders to make steps to make their homes more energy efficient was launched on Wednesday.

Following a rise in the number of people calling energy efficiency advice lines, the adverts, directed by This is England director Shane Meadows, are to air from tonight.

"Apart from the fact that I really liked this campaign because it's funny and well written, I was also interested in making some films that might make a difference to the way people behave. If these films can make a few more people aware of the problem and actually do something, then it's got to be a worthwhile project."
Shane Meadows

The advert shot by Meadows show a father trying to get his family to cut their energy consumption, reducing their gas and electricity bills and reducing their carbon emissions.

ACT ON CO2 advice line from the Energy Saving Trust has reported that the amount of calls it has received has quadrupled since the government announced a £910 million package to help householders become more efficient.

Taking steps such as ensuring all sockets are tuned off, installing insulation and using energy saving appliances are among the recommendations the advice line ACT ON CO2 has been handing out.

"I am encouraged that following last week's announcement, people are looking to take action to cut their fuel bills and save energy at the same time. We now need to build on that enthusiasm."
Hillary Benn, Environment Secretary

The government package aims to make sure all homes have proper insulation by 2020.

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NIE Testing Smart Meters

Northern Ireland Electricity are to conduct a trial in to Smart Meters, and are looking for willing participants. The system will make use of accurate real time data, which can be viewed online, and tell you exactly how much electricity is being used in your home at any time.

Taking part is free and offers;

• Internet based monthly bills
• Real-time data on electricity consumption
• Accurate (not estimated) bills
• Paperless billing
• Remote readings of meter
• Email based customer support

The trial will last around twelve months. To participate you must be a NIE customer on a Home Energy or Eco Energy Tariff, paying their bills by direct debit, access to the internet, an email address, and individual meter and no arrears on their account. Numbers are limited.

For further information contact Kathryn on 028 9068 5028 or email smartmeter@nieenergy.co.uk

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New Apple Range a Little Bit Greener

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the latest Apple products available now, and focused on the environmental side of the new iPod nano and iPod touch he said;

Keynote Speech iPod Nano (Time Stamp 24m 20s to 25m 30s)

"We want to be, just really environmental sensitive with these products we ship alot of them. We are constantly worried about reducing the size of the packaging, and the transportation carbon that we spend to move these around the world. But, the biggest thing we worry about are the toxics, and we have an enviornmmental checklist we use internally on everything, and I have to say the new iPods are looking great from this point of view, they are arsenic free glass, they're BFR free, completely mercury free and PVC free. And, they are highly recyclable materials, the aluminium and the glass, high recyclable. So, we are really trying our best and there is more we are going to do in the future, but so far, we think these new nanos are the cleanest toxic free iPods we have ever built."

Keynote Speech iPod Touch (Time Stamp 45m 27s to 45m 47s)

"And, environmentally, the checklist looks a lot like the Nano, arsenic free glass, BFR free, mercury free, PVC free, and again with the stainless steel and the glass, highly recyclable enclosure. So we are really pleased with that."



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How Much Electricity Does an Energizer Battery Charger Use?

Batteries are said to consume fifty times the energy in production as the end product contains, so it makes environmental and economic sense to invest in a battery charger and rechargable batteries, if you use high energy consumption products such as digital cameras again its a real necessity, they can be reused again and again, sometimes up to 1000 times before they die. We tested the Energizer CH1HR-BS, which is a high-powered charger capable of charging 4 x 2500mAh AA batteries in an hour.

Charger attached to power supply, no batteries being charged (vampire power) - 3W

1 AA Battery - 9 to 11W
2 AA Batteries - 12 to 15W
3 AA Batteries - 16 to 19W
4 AA Batteries - 18 to 22W

So charging 4 batteries, is likely to cost you 0.022kWh, less than half of a penny, compared to several pounds for disposable batteries, it makes sense to choose rechargables.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much Energy Does an Apple iPhone Use?

The iPhone has been a success worldwide, with the recent launch of the iPhone 3G, but, just how much energy does it use.

iPhone 3G - 4 to 6W
iPhone 2G - 4 to 6W

This was from an Apple charger, whilst charging the battery, notably when we tested the Apple iBook G4, we connected the iPhone via USB, and this drew for a short term, extra power around 12W, but after applications which launched due to connection, this fell to approximately 4 to 6W.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much Electricity Does a Russell Hobb Toaster Use?

I thought I would measure my toaster, as well it's breakfast time ... almost. Toast is eaten alot for breakfast around the world, its quick and convenient. But how much energy is consumed in making your bread golden brown?

I tested the Russell Hobb Satin Classic 2 Slice Toaster (Model No. 14360), it matches my kettle, that I measured earlier. I measured on a medium setting, which toasted the bread for 177 seconds. The toaster used between 1155W and 1232W. Toasting two slices of bread used 0.06kWh (about 0.8 pence).

However most toasters have only an option for two slices, you can toast one slice but, it still requires the same amount of energy as each slot does not operate independently, I know that is a bit extreme to point out such a small issue, and I'm sure that the percentage of people toasting one slice is in percentage terms a small minority, but the energy saved could be huge if taken across the globe.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much Electricity Does a Netgear Wireless Router Use?

We are all pretty much using wireless internet, I have had my wireless router for almost 3 years now, and Im sure that many people never switch them off (just like me), so how much electricity do they use?

Netgear Wireless Router DG834GT - 10W

Assuming you do not turn your router off, this would equate to 0.24kWh / day and 87.6kWh annually, costing approximately £10 per year to run and emitting 48kg of CO2. If you can compare the consumptions of the product before you purchase, this might be an idea to save a few pounds a year and a few kg of CO2 for each watt saved. Approximately there are 12m households in the UK with a broadband connection, if each of these used wi-fi and never turned it off we would be using 2880MWh per day, and in a year collectively spend £135m per annum, and emit 102 000 tonnes of CO2.

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

Go Green Without Reducing Your Geek Chic

Dell has launched its Studio Hybrid their greenest consumer desktop PC. Their smallest design is about 80% smaller than standard desktops, and it contains about 75% less printed documentation by weight when compared to typical tower desktops.

Going green without cramping your style, Studio Hybrid, personalisation is easy with 6 interchangeable color sleeves or also one in bamboo (for an extra $130 USD (or £110 in the UK with a 15 day extra wait on delivered systems), but what's $130, when your saving the planet). So why the huge extra cost in the UK? and why charge an extra £30 to select the colour of your choice, when you charge £29.99 for two covers, surely multiple plastic covers are not a good thing right? and in the US Dell charge no fee to choose another base colour? and only £10 for extra plastic covers.

However, the Hybrid uses about 70% less power than a typical desktop, and meets Energy Star® 4.0 standards with an 87% efficient power supply. The system uses only 1 watt of power when off or in hibernate mode, 26W while sitting idle, and 44W when pushed to the limit. Studio Hybrid packaging is made from 95% recyclable materials. And the Studio Hybrid comes with a system-recycling kit, so you can help preserve and protect the environment.

Systems in the US start at $499 (ex del) and in the UK at £399 (inc del).

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Green Washing: BMW Efficient Dynamics

BMW are advertising their range of EfficientDynamics cars, which through innovation reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. 21 BMW cars now meet or exceed the 140g/km standard, about forty per cent of the new vehicles from the BMW Group.

Technology which improves fuel performance includes;

• Four Cylinder Petrol Engine
  How many kilometres are there in a litre? 17.2, if you're driving a BMW 116i. That's 5.8 litres per 100 km in accordance with the EU norm. Thanks to continual engine optimisation as part of the BMW EfficientDynamics concept, BMW drivers are now leading the way when it comes to economy. In the blink of an eye, High Precision Injection ensures that no less than 200 injections are supplied - just one of the numerous BMW EfficientDynamics innovations that helps significantly reduce fuel consumption and emission levels.
  
  
• Auto Stop Start Function
  The Auto Start Stop function automatically switches off the engine when the car is at a standstill and in neutral, then restarts it as soon as the driver presses the clutch pedal again.
  
  
• Brake Energy Regeneration
  With Brake Energy Regeneration, BMW EfficientDynamics points the way to a more energy-efficient future. As soon as you brake or take your foot off the accelerator, the kinetic energy is captured and fed to the battery. This reduces the amount of power the battery takes from the engine and hence lowers fuel consumption. When the driver presses the accelerator, on the other hand, the alternator is decoupled from the drivetrain. With fewer components drawing power from the drivetrain, more of the engine's output can go into accelerating the car.

This is just three of the features that go into BMW EfficientDynamic cars, and help to make the cars more efficient, but really is this just a way to green wash over the fact that the cars are still not the most efficient in the marketplace?

You can decide by visiting BMW EfficientDynamics.

Even their website has a so called "energy-saving mode."

How Much Electricity Does a 32" Sharp LCD TV Use?

LCD TV's are extremely popular at the moment as they are cheap and affordable. We tested the 32" Sharp GD8E LCD TV with built in digital television receiver.

In Stand-by; 3W
Digital TV; 85 - 87W
Non-Digital TV; 155 - 160W

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much are You Paying for Electricity or Gas?

New research out yesterday revealed that 80% of people do not know how much they are paying for their electricity or gas. In addition to this the survey of more than 1200 people across the UK contacted by telephone in January 2008 by Drummond Madell, the majority believed that energy bills were the most difficult to understand.

The findings suggest that smart meters, may be able to reduce our energy usage and reduce CO2 emissions. Basic visual displays will be available free on request from energy suppliers from April.

Smart meters have been trialled in countries ranging from Sweden to the US but are not widely available in the UK yet. These trials have shown that householders who use smart meters can reduce their energy bills by between five and 10 per cent.

Based on savings of five per cent the Energy Saving Trust estimates that if everyone in the UK switched to smart meters British householders could save £1.2bn a year and the equivalent of 7.4 million tonnes of CO2.

"While the Energy White Paper outlined the need for energy suppliers to make better displays available to households free of charge on request, we would like to see the Government act more boldly and offer the support necessary to enable smart meters to be rolled out across the UK.

Smart meters are better than clip-ons because they offer two-way connectivity with the energy supplier - not only for electricity but also gas too; this means that the energy cost displayed would exactly match what you owed the energy supplier. You would also know the carbon cost of what you are doing.

In addition, smart meters offer the opportunity to track usage over a set period of time, meaning householders could identify when consumption is highest and therefore where energy savings are possible. And the energy supplier would also be able to see this information and offer solutions."

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Saving Trust

Other smart meter benefits identified in the Energy Saving Trust's report include:

• Frequent data on energy consumption (both gas and electric).
• Time of use data; historical use data.
• Differential tariffs based on time of use.
• Greater control over peak demand.
• Ability for the energy suppliers to send energy saving tips to consumers based on their usage.
• They monitor the energy renewable energy sources installed in the home, such as solar panels and wind turbines, are using and producing.
• The ability to switch between credit and pre-payment functions.

You can download the Green Barometer IV report here.

Interestingly I note that those in Northern Ireland, which is serviced by only one electricity supplier, were substainially less interested in having a smart meter installed, and the benefits of this were of little interest. The highest proportion of people who found it uneasy to understand their energy bill also came from this region, and likewise the least people knew which energy tariff and the price they pay for electricity.

As NIE are one of the contributors to the Energy Saving Trust, Im sure they have been informed of the report. It would be interesting to see if they will implement changes to try to rectify these issues. However, being an NIE customer, I find my bill easy to understand, and know the unit price and tariff that I am on.

How Much Electricity Does a Sony PS2 Use?

After testing a Wii, I thought I would try a console from an older generation to compare the difference, the Sony PS2 was the best selling console of it's era selling hundreds of millions of units world wide. But how much energy does it use?

Standby: 3W
PS2 Menu: 25W
Opening Disc Drive: +3W
Scanning Disc: 30 - 35W
In Game: 30 - 35W

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

How Much Electricity Does a Nintendo Wii Use?

As one of this years (and lasts) Christmas must have, the Wii has been outselling its nearest rivals by far. But just how much electricity does a Wii use?

In Standby: 2 - 3W
Wii Menu: 20W
In Game;
Wii Sports: 19 - 21W
Super Mario Galaxy: 19 - 22W

For information on the electricity consumption of other products check out "How Much Electricity Does a ... Use?"

Please Note the energy use figures are taken from an energy monitor and are not scientifically analysed, therefore the range and margin of error is greater. If you would like a specific product tested let us know and we will endeavour to check it out.

Times Square New Years Eve Ball Goes Green with LEDs

This year revellers at Times Square in New York will be greeted with the most energy efficient new years eve countdown ball ever. The star of the world-famous holiday extravaganza was revamped by Philips Lighting.

The new 6ft (1.8m) ball, weighing about 1,100lbs (500kg), is covered with 9,576 light-emitting diodes, Philips Lighting, which created the light-emitting diodes, or LED bulbs, specifically for the event, says they are smaller but more than twice as bright as last year's lights, which were a mix of more than 600 incandescent and halogen bulbs. And the new lights can create more than 16 million colors for a kaleidoscope of hues against the 672 Waterford Crystal triangles.

More than a million revelers were expected to crowd the streets for the annual New Year's Eve celebration tonight, the $1.1m (£550,000) New Year's Eve Ball will descend creating a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns on each of its 672 crystal triangular panels, emitting a brightness of more than 625,000 lumens.

Whilst I don't want to be a party pooper, again, I have already been nagged for targeting Christmas, I thought I would look at a positive to the NYE ball in Times Square, and that is highlighting LEDs, the news coverage will certainly ensure that this technology is firmly in the minds of individuals as the real alternative for lighting their homes and businesses and not just a big ball.

LEDs last about 100 times longer than incandescents, 10 times longer than CFLs, and use about 1-3w per light fixture depending on the brightness you require. The technology is becoming more mainstream, and prices are decreasing. I have seen bulbs for as low as $10/£5, so in terms of value compared to incandescents they are value for money.

Typical home energy bill savings by implementing LED lighting in your home is about 18% (from incandescents) and 5% (from CFLs). Offices adopting the technology could save 37% off their energy bills (from incandescents) and 10% (from CFLs.

Don't forget if you do replace your old bulbs, please recycle, especially if you are replacing CFLs which contain mercury.

Being Naughty ... Selling Out to Advertisers

You may have noticed my shallow attempts to monetise this blog with the paid for posting that have appeared in the last few days. There currently is two postings. The main reason that I have added these posts to the blog are as they offered reasonable money off the back of our pagerank status. But rest assured this decision was not taken lightly as the fee will be invested in either a competition featuring some energy efficient prize, or donated to an environmental organisation to help protect the world. As yet I have not came to a conclusive decision but if you have any ideas, please feel free to add a comment in the comments section.

Potentially I could distribute 72 stapless staplers or 123 energy saving bulbs to help the planet, but your ideas are probably more exciting.

Energy Saving Tip # 1 - Staples

I've decide to add a daily tip to the blog, some of which I am sure you have already implemented, and others you might not. I will try to add a new dimension to these tips by delving into some of the potential savings that could be amassed from taking on such tips.

If each of the 10m office workers were to use one less staple per day this would amount to 328kg per day and over 120 tonnes of steel over a year. In energy terms this would be over one million kwh of electricity used and almost 500 000kg of CO2 reduced. A viable alternative to staples are stapleless staplers (and can hold together upto 7 sheets of paper, not to mention office-chic in Japan) or reuseable paperclips.

Why Stapleless Staplers are Japan Office Chic?

• No Staples [You never have an emergency staple moment]
• No Need to Remove Staples
• Easy to Shread Documents
• Less Frequent Jams & Irritating Stapler Related Problems
• Safe for Children [Just search staple in YouTube]
  

Whilst Im sure you are not moved by the figures to ban staples in the office just yet, it shows the impact a small action can have on a national scale. I found this stapleless stapler for under $3 USD including shipping and can hold 5 sheets together. Take into consideration the number of staples you use or in some magazines, supplements, business document, retailers and mail. That's alot of staples.

Picture: Gadgets Threaten Energy Savings

I have been away from the blog a while working hard and resting after my short holiday however I am back and when I saw this photo, I think this is a great image but it also made me think about an entry I wrote about in July on High Powered Gadgets Threatening Energy Savings, and how they are increasingly finding their way into our lives from a younger and younger age. The image by Eugene Hoshiko of the Associated Press was taken at the Eve's Temptation lingerie and beachwear fashion show in Shanghai, China