[Graeme]

Intelligent plugs will tackle the energy-guzzlers inside your home

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'G')adgets to reduce wastage from standby facilities have already been put on sale in recent months and researchers are now working on extending energy-saving technology to every household appliance. Intelligent plugs that allow householders to monitor the consumption of every light, screen and washer are being developed by researchers at the University of Essex. They have designed prototypes that will undergo a comprehensive test regime in the university’s iSpace department before mass production.

[FireJack]

So they monitor energy consumptions and do what, let the people know? The link doesn't work so if there is anything else I can't find it.

[lawnchair]

We'll see. I love my Kill-a-Watt meter, and have gotten good use of it. But, the net effect of the little vampire loads isn't that big, and most electronics are more efficient in their idle state than they used to be (partially through some government cajoling).

I know it's a little different in Aus/NZ, but in the US, not one person in a hundred can be bothered to hang clothes out to dry even one sunny Saturday a year. Doing that alone, most of the time, saves me what would be a quarter to third of my electric bill. Yet that savings is not, financially, noticeable at all.

I'm not convinced that very many people care.

[americandream]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lawnchair', 'W')e'll see. I love my Kill-a-Watt meter, and have gotten good use of it. But, the net effect of the little vampire loads isn't that big, and most electronics are more efficient in their idle state than they used to be (partially through some government cajoling).

I know it's a little different in Aus/NZ, but in the US, not one person in a hundred can be bothered to hang clothes out to dry even one sunny Saturday a year. Doing that alone, most of the time, saves me what would be a quarter to third of my electric bill. Yet that savings is not, financially, noticeable at all.

I'm not convinced that very many people care.

[emersonbiggins]

This is a phantom problem - freshly repossessed plasma TVs and Dolby 7.1 stereo systems use little to no power at all.