TV's 'sleep' button stands accused - AfroChat - African American

Gorilla · January 23rd, 2006, 11:43 AM

Britons waste the equivalent of around two power stations' worth of electricity each year by leaving TV sets and other gadgets on standby.

Last June Environment Minister Elliot Morley, responding to an MP's question, revealed that electrical equipment in sleep mode used roughly 7TWh of energy and emitted around 800,000 tonnes of carbon.

The government is currently reviewing the options of how to keep the UK's lights on in the future, at the same time as reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.

Energy efficiency groups are urging people to carry out their own personal energy review because homes are set to place an ever increasing demand on power supplies.

The number of TVs in the UK is estimated to reach 74 million by 2020, meaning that there will be more televisions than people to watch them.

Long haul

If so much electricity is wasted by devices being left on standby, one obvious question to ask is: do we need standby buttons on electronic devices?

Definitely not, says Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat's environment spokesman.

It was Mr Baker's parliamentary question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that led to the admission over emissions.

He has calculated that the CO2 emissions from electrical equipment being left on standby are equivalent to 1.4 million long-haul flights.

To put it another way, the entire population of Glasgow could fly to New York and back again and the resulting emissions would still be less than that from devices left in sleep mode.

The figures prompted a flurry of media stories and reports from environmental groups; but seven months on, does Mr Baker think this coverage fell on deaf ears?

"The government actually seemed quite receptive. Elliot Morley paid attention and mentioned it to me; so clearly it got to the government a bit.

"What we have not seen yet, of course, is any change in design or change in habits. So I would say that it has made no difference yet but I have not entirely given up hope that the government may do something in the longer term."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4620350.stm

Corals · January 23rd, 2006, 11:57 AM

I'm guilty, I always leave my computer on standby. My tv is hardly ever on, so I don't have a problem there.

saraphen · January 23rd, 2006, 01:01 PM

The only sleep button I have is the one that will cut the TV off in 30 minutes...after I fall asleep.

stiab3 · January 23rd, 2006, 01:11 PM

I know what you're saying Saraphen.

I'd never seen a tv with sleep or standby until I moved to Europe. What it does, is if the tv is OFF, then the remote control doesn't turn it on. It has to be in 'standby' mode and then you can use the remote control. And when it's in standby mode, there's a little light on usually.

I'm guilty too, as I was never used to any standby mode, and because I want to just pick up my remote and use it, my hi-fi is permanently on standby. I don't have a tv.

s3

charliekilothree · January 23rd, 2006, 02:19 PM

Many TV's user's manuals say that it takes less energy to have the set on standby than to turn it on from a powered down condition. They also state that it's more efficient to mute the sound than to turn the set off if you will be out of the room for a while.

stiab3 · January 23rd, 2006, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliekilothree

Many TV's user's manuals say that it takes less energy to have the set on standby than to turn it on from a powered down condition. They also state that it's more efficient to mute the sound than to turn the set off if you will be out of the room for a while.

That's been my excuse for years. But according to the quoted article, that's not the case. Apparently the tv uses 2/3 of the power in standby mode.

I suspect that US and UK tvs are made to completely different specs though.

s3

charliekilothree · January 23rd, 2006, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiab3

That's been my excuse for years. But according to the quoted article, that's not the case. Apparently the tv uses 2/3 of the power in standby mode.

I suspect that US and UK tvs are made to completely different specs though.

s3

I got those specs from Sony TV sets. They usually list the Wattage used in standby and during normal use on their specs page. I'm sure that the TV systems are different between the US and UK. Also we use 115/120 vs, 210/220 that UK uses.

saraphen · January 23rd, 2006, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliekilothree

I got those specs from Sony TV sets. They usually list the Wattage used in standby and during normal use on their specs page. I'm sure that the TV systems are different between the US and UK. Also we use 115/120 vs, 210/220 that UK uses.

And we don't have to be in stand-by to use the remote. I don't think any of our TV's have a stand-by.

stiab3 · January 23rd, 2006, 06:27 PM

I grew up in the Caribbean so most of the stuff we get is from the american market. The standby thing doesn't really exist on the tv's I'm used to.

The thing is 110-120 is more efficient with smaller appliances- tv's etc. whereas 220-240 is more efficient with large appliances like washers/dryers etc.

So maybe US tv's don't have/need a standby feature.

s3

charliekilothree · January 23rd, 2006, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiab3

I grew up in the Caribbean so most of the stuff we get is from the american market. The standby thing doesn't really exist on the tv's I'm used to.

The thing is 110-120 is more efficient with smaller appliances- tv's etc. whereas 220-240 is more efficient with large appliances like washers/dryers etc.

So maybe US tv's don't have/need a standby feature.

s3

I have a standby on my Sony TVs. There is a huge difference in the power consumption between the standby and in use modes. One of mine uses 3 watts in standby and 220 watts in use. The larger TV uses 1 watt in standby and 280 in use.