Standby Buttons to be Outlawed in the UK

This is one of those stories where you just have to shake your head and say, “what”? But in the UK, the government is going to outlaw standby buttons on televisions, video and dvd players the rdeuce the amount of electricity wasted in the homes.

(Pause to make sure it sinks in and allow you to pick yourself up off the floor.)

According to yesterday’s Energy Review, standby facilities use 8 per cent of all domestic electricity.

Lighting, set-top boxes, televisions, chargers, fridges, freezers, washing machines and computers were highlighted as wasteful products that must be redesigned to save power.

Businesses will have to phase out or reduce drastically the energy used by computers, printers and photocopiers left on standby. Source: TimesOnline via Realtechnews

Seriously, what are they thinking? Standby was created to save electricity, do they think that people will all of a sudden start turning everything off? The only way that will happen is if the extra costs associated with not having a standy mode increase their electric bill enough to matter. I don’t know what else to say, it’s truly unbelievable that someone could think that this will help.

Posted by Jimmy Daniels Posted in: Energy, Rambling, Technology No Comments » July 2006