The amount of energy used for household lighting and electric appliances has increased by 155% since the seventies, a new report by the Office for National Statistics has established.
Social Trends 40, which was published by the ONS today, states that in 2007 the equivalent of 6.8 million tonnes of oil was used to power lighting and appliances - compared to the 2.7 million tonnes which was used back in 1970.
The increase in usage is mostly put down to the widespread adoption of household devices such as personal computers, microwaves and sound systems.
Overall domestic energy consumption in the UK rose by 24% between 1970 and 2008. In 1970, 39% of energy came from coal - but that amount had dropped to a mere 1% by 2008. Gas has taken up the burden, with a share of just 24% of energy supplies in 1970 which rose to 68% by 2008.
The increase in usage is mostly put down to the widespread adoption of household devices such as personal computers, microwaves and sound systems.
Wrongly IMHO. When we moved into our present house, with its newly-built extension, it took 1kW to light the kitchen. Yes, 20 of 50W halogen spots embedded in the ceiling. They're now 20W but that's still apalling.
A PC uses less than 100W, a microwave is only on for a few minutes at a time, a sound system uses less than 200W and is only on for a couple of hours at a time.
Also the people of the 1970s didn't shower obsessively every day (in vertical showers which encourage you to wash your hair every day, which of course means drying it) I could go on...
Dishwashers, if used sensibly with a full load dont use much more energy than hand dishwashing, some makes claim a reduction.
Microwave ovens use less energy than most others means of heating or cooking food.
The worst offenders are
Tumble dryers, especialy if replacing zero energy line drying.
PCs and related equipment, especialy if left on 24/7 as many are.
Halogen lighting.
Oversized, low efficiency fridges.
Multiple fridges, consumers buy a new one, but keep the old one as well.
Giant wide screen TVs, and smaller ones in each room.
Domestic A/C which is required to remove the heat from all the extra TVs and fridges.
New regulations that require mains operated smoke detectors and RCDs everywhere, and increasingly emergency lighting.
"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"
adam2 wrote:Dishwashers, if used sensibly with a full load dont use much more energy than hand dishwashing, some makes claim a reduction.
But rarely do people use solar hot water for dishwashing (as we do in summer) or then put the waste water on plants (as we do).
Also, there is a trend towards two dishwashers, where you use crockery out of one and, once soiled, put it in the other. No need for all that backbreaking effort of actually putting stuff away! (Called 'siding' in Yorkshire).
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
I have to run my dishwasher empty sometimes. I don't use it, and after some weeks there's a horrible smell in the kitchen if I don't! It's one of those built in things hidden in a kitchen unit.
JohnB wrote:I have to run my dishwasher empty sometimes. I don't use it, and after some weeks there's a horrible smell in the kitchen if I don't! It's one of those built in things hidden in a kitchen unit.
Given that a dishwasher, by design, has a waterproof seal around the door, I'd venture that there's another issue if you're getting nasty niffs from an unused machine.
contadino wrote:Given that a dishwasher, by design, has a waterproof seal around the door, I'd venture that there's another issue if you're getting nasty niffs from an unused machine.
My kitchen was installed by the plumber who used to own the house. Apparently he's not a very good plumber!
Absolutely. I've been tracking my domestic energy consumption weekly since 1999 to try and see the effects of improving insulation, replacing lightbulbs, turning things off or down etc etc.
By far the dominant factor is the number of daughters (max 3) at home. Nothing else has any significant effect.
RogerCO
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The time for politics is past - now is the time for action.
adam2 wrote:Dishwashers, if used sensibly with a full load dont use much more energy than hand dishwashing, some makes claim a reduction.
My dish washer uses less than a plastic sink bowl of water and only heats about two thirds of that.
Theres no way I could wash the same amount with less water and I'd argue that means less energy too.
Tumble dryers, especialy if replacing zero energy line drying.
My Tumble Dryer is a condensing model, so although it uses a lot of energy, that energy is kept within the house. As its only used in winter, it displaces some more efficient gas heating.
Multiple fridges, consumers buy a new one, but keep the old one as well.
I am curious as to the real world energy use of a "beer fridge".
Regarding tumble dryers, are you certain that a condensing model retains the heat within the dwelling ?
A conventional tumble dryer produces warm damp air, which normally has to be vented to the outside air in order to prevent damp and condensation.
The heat is therefore lost.
Condensing versions do not need a vent to the outside air.
The ones that I have seen condense the moisture internaly useing cold mains water which is then run to waste.
That would use just as much energy as a vented version, and waste water as well.
If the dryer has a water supply, then it is probably this sort.
It would be possible in theory to design a tumble dryer that uses relatively cool room air to condense the water, but I am not aware of any such product, and I suspect that the size of the condenser would make the idea a non starter.
"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"
I got a large, nominally A rate fridge freezer when I moved house. it never worked properly and consumed over 1 KWh a day - the largest single cost item in my house. Second (that I could measure) was the electric kettle, at 0.5KWh, and the wireless modem. Although it only draws 20w , it was on 24/7. Now we (I) turn it off overnight. Saves about 1/3 of that. Also, my wife's old HiFi, which draws 10W on standby, had been on standby for months without being used...
I now have a small A+ rated fridge, and a small A+ rated top load freezer, kept outside, so it does not need so much power to keep it cold in the winter.
