We all know that leaving TVs and other devices on standby means they will continue consuming electricity (anything from 15 to 70% of the usual “working” amount), spending our money and contributing to CO2 emissions. On the other hand, getting up from the cosy sofa and switching the devices off is not something we’re too keen on.
A standby shutdown is a lead extension with a “brain. You just plug in your TV, DVD player and games console, teach the device to recognize your remote controls (it has an infra-red sensor) and voila – each time you put your TV in the standby mode, the shutdown will switch it off. To switch it back on, just use the remote again.
Sounds great but does it make any sense to spend more money on a device that saves you money? Well, here’s the maths. The shutdown switch costs £15.99 (incl. delivery) at the Energenie website. Once you plug it into your wall socket, it will start consuming a small amount of electricity – just some 3p per month. So, in the first year you will have spent £16.35 and then just 36p per year.
The TVs I used for my test consumed anything between 5 to 25W on standby. I’ll take the average, which is 15W. If we assume that each device spends approximately 16 hours a day on standby, it consumes 16 x 365 x 15 / 1000 = 87.6kWh of energy per year doing nothing… just sitting on standby. So, each socket of the Energenie standby shutdown will save you on average 87.6kWh of electricity. Use just three out of four of its sockets and the savings amount to 262.8kWh per year. With the average retail price of electricity standing at 10p, it comes to £26.28 saved. The actual savings will vary depending on the nominal power of your appliances.
But it is not only about the money. It is also about the environment. With the energy production mix of the UK (35% of electricity generated in coal plants) delivery of one kWh of electricity will emit 520g of CO2. Thus your Energenie will have kept 137kg of CO2 from being emitted.
It is RoHS compliant, has the “heart” mark, which means it is safe. Apart from saving money and the environment, it will also reduce the fire risk and increase the working life of your appliances.
Here’s more good news. I was so impressed by the Energenie that I’ve decided to offer you a chance to win one automatic shutdown device. Please proceed to the competition and don’t forget to check Energenie for even more green gadgets.
