10 eco gadgets you don’t need

I’m surprised you’re plugging the Ecobutton – most computers and laptops since about XP have power-saving features built-in – like putting the computer to sleep/hibernation or turning of the screen or slowing down the processor/lowering screen brightness if you’re running on battery only. Better to use these than waste money on a product designed to do this (a waste of energy in itself).

I’m always that major manufacturers still don’t incorporate an Off button – how long have we known about the effects of leaving appliances in stand-by – admittedly, the savings aren’t huge. Sometimes, however, you don’t get a choice of say, a Sky or Virgin Media box. My Virgin Media box is terrible in stand-by (over 20W) but the only way to switch it Off off is pulling the plug behind the TV – not practical every night or when you have programs to record.

Are manufacturers just totally dim or are we, as a nation, not too bothered and don’t demand these standards enough?

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Dave D says:

Absolutely agree Fat Sam Glos – and I have said on a different convo earlier this year that I think Which? (and others) should be campaigning for a law to make it illegal to sell any appliance without a “hard off” switch.

I’m not going to get on my soap box about LG washing Machines, the Energy Saving Trust or Condensing Boilers, but if anyone wants proof of how spending huge sums on supposedly eco-friendly appliances is a dead loss, see earlier convo’s on similar topics where I have posted at length (or if you are desperate post a request on here and I’ll re-post the lot if anyone really wants me to).

Bottom line: if it’s not in use, switch it off at the wall (or pull the plug out); never replace a working older appliance with a new one in the hope of saving energy – you won’t (and even “The Experts” admit this under pressure) and don’t waste energy by trying to live in a tropical climate rather than waring seasonally suitable clothes. I’ve saved far more by these three rules than anyone I know who has bought “eco gadgets”.

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wavechange says:

Well said Dave.

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fat sam says:

Technologically, how difficult can it be to have a real ‘Off’ button your remote control?

I accept that you can’t then have an ‘On’ button on the remote (because the appliance has to be in some kind of ‘On’ mode in order to be able to receive the signal from the remote) but it’s hardly any effort to switch something back on with a hard ‘on’ button on the appliance.

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fat sam says:

erm, please excuse my unfortunate choice of words!

(blush!)

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wavechange says:

In the 1970s we had some TVs with remote controls that controlled the volume and channel, and had an off button that made the on/off button on the TV pop out. To switch on again, you had to stand up, walk to the TV and press the button. That would be unthinkable in the 21st century (but might be a jolly good idea).

The TVs I’m referring to were, I believe, made in Britain by British companies. How quaint.

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John says:

its not hard to do this. you can buy power sockets which do this for you and turn off everything else connected to this plug – games console, DVD player etc… or standby other devices such as sky box or pvr.
So, it wouldn’t be hard for TV manufactures to do this for you…

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Patrick Steen says:

I’m surprised you haven’t joined in our Conversation on this very issue Fat Sam! https://conversation.which.co.uk/technology/tvs-on-standby-without-an-on-off-switch/

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fat sam says:

23 July 2011

@wavechange – that is exactly what I meant, yes!

@patrick – I will investigate 🙂

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Rose says:

Our washing machine has an “eco sensor” for the amount of water to put in when it rinses. The result is frothy clothes/towels etc that I then have to rinse in the washing machine one or two more times to get them even moderately froth-free (and that’s with us putting in detergent that’s just a fraction of the amount the container tells us to put in!). A good test is to fill up the sink then rinse a newly washed flannel in it. Then continue for about 10 mins until it’s sufficiently froth-free to use (especially if you have sensitive skin!).
I’m also not convinced about condenser boilers (one of which we had installed on recommendations from just about everyone when our previous boiler “died”). We have to run our hot water taps for so long to get the hot water through (which is then scalding hot as we don’t have mixer taps!), that we were wasting huge amounts of water and now just use the cold tap instead!
I agree re turning down the thermostat. We’ve had ours at about 18 degrees for years and it’s reflected in our gas usage when compared with other local houses’ averages. We always tell our visitors to bring something warm when they come round in the winter (we’re quite comfortable in autumn/spring clothing, not even needing thick jumpers) but our friends have their thermostats set at about 25 degrees and sit around in sleeveless (summer type!) tops and t shirts in the depths of winter so it’s no wonder they feel cold in our house!

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John says:

Your right about a combi boiler (of which your condensing boiler is a type of). However, most new houses (last 5 years or so) use a condensing boiler to heat a tank of water which is then used for your hot taps, resulting in much quicker hot water than a standard combi boiler. The boiler also heats the radiators, so you can set it to heat the tank at the same time as the radiators come on in the winter. This is basically a new version of what boilers used to be like before combi boilers came along.

Also, most new toilet flushes have a double flush – with two buttons on the top, one inside the other. Pressing the larger button just does a small flush – suitable for the yellow stuff. Pressing the smaller button (inside the big one) results in a larger flush which will flush away anything. Much better than a standard water saving cistern or putting a brick in the cistern.

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Dave says:

Agree with John – especially on his point about boilers: combi’s have always been and will doubtless continue to be utter rubbish. If they were marketed as the 20th/21st century equivalent of the Ascot over-sink heater (which is essentially what they are) no one would have ever touched them.

As for toilets, I know I am incredibly the “odd one out” but I still have a high level flush toilet with a chain hanging down – it uses less than a gallon of water (around 4 litres) for a flush but the force of water due to the height of the cistern means that nothing is ever left in the pan.

We can’t expect everyone to install a high level cistern (most modern houses wouldn’t be able to fit them in) but I’m just making the point that actually water saving is not a new thing at all – technologically or economically.

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Rose says:

Forgot to mention the water-saving loo cistern, too, that we have to flush twice if we want whatever’s in the loo to disappear!

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frugal ways says:

whatever happened to good old common sense in saving water?
we used to put a brick in our toilet tank and still do share baths

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John says:

Aren’t showers much better for water usage?

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Matt Cody says:

It has come to our attention that the VPhase product has been mentioned in a recent Which? test. We have been in communication with Which? as regards the tests carried out by Which? and whether these were fair and appropriate.

It is our position that Which? failed to test the VPhase against the appliances in the home that not only use the most electricity, but also that can save the most from having their voltage optimised, such as fridges, freezers, central heating pumps, TVs and computers.

The test also seems to have failed to take into account that the product is hard-wired into the fabric of the building and therefore does not require any change in lifestyle or behaviour by the home owner.

With the extensive testing we have conducted with Ofgem and other organisations we remain very confident about our savings claims. The VPhase is designed for a life of at least 25 years, and we consider a period of 3 to 5 years for the product to pay for itself to be reasonable, particularly in light of current increases in electricity prices.

The product comes with a 5 year warranty so that there is no risk to the home owner of the product not working within this 3 to 5 year period.

In the context of other energy saving technologies, such as solar PV systems, loft insulation, or heat pumps – the payback periods and energy savings are very competitive.

As a company we are committed to providing to home owners what we believe is one of the greenest energy saving devices on the market at this price point.

[Personal details removed by mods – we don’t encourage personal phone numbers to be left, however if you want to contact VPhase you can do it by visiting their own website]

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Longley Shopper says:

As a point of interest my place of work has a device under a different brand name which claims to save energy by the same method as the VPhase.

In the two year’s we’ve had it it doesn’t appear to have saved any energy as far as we can tell, but we have had endless problems with refrigeration systems failing, till systems crashing and computer UPS (uninterruptible Power Supplies) shutting down. IN all cases there has been a recommendation from the relevant service bodies that the equipment concerned be supplied by a separate power supply which does not come through that equipment. We are now planning the removal of the equipment which will involve the temporary shut down of the whole building as our equipment is fitted at the supply source in our sub-station.

It may well be that Matt’s VPhase device is much better than the device we have and it may also be that savings are possible on domestic supplies but harder or impossible to achieve on commercial supplies, but I have to say that I would not be willing to try VPhase or anything similar in my own home now.

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Sylvia Baron says:

Hello

A point of clarification about our testing of the VPhase for our reader: we have been in communication with VPahse as Matt mentioned in his post above and do remain of the view that we think the VPhase does not provide value for money.

We tested the Vphase in a lab with a range of electrical equipment, including lighting, a plasma TV and a vacuum cleaner in order to quantify the savings that can be achieved with various electrical loads. We found that the device helped saved some energy but at £300 would take a long time to pay back for an average household electrical consumption. There are alternative cheaper ways to save electricity in the home.

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Matt Cody says:

The primary point of contention here is that you have tested the VPhase in an environment in which it is not designed to be used. The VPhase, unlike the other products in the test, is designed to be hard-wired into the fabric of a building by a professional electrician and will optimise the voltage for the entire house (excluding the resistive heating circuits, as outlined in the installation instructions). In the context of other similar energy saving measures that are integrated into the fabric of the building, such as solar PV systems or heat pumps – not only is the VPhase voltage optimisation device significantly cheaper, but it offers a much quicker payback period and is more effective in terms of “£ saved per £ spent”. As already outlined in our earlier response – the VPhase is expected to have a payback period of between 3-5 years; and with a 25+ year life, we consider this payback period to be more than reasonable. Finally, we don’t think your testing environment is representative of a typical energy profile of a home and is therefore not a good indication for consumers to base their decisions on. The various, independently verified results that have considered whole-house applications are much more relevant and accurate, and can stand up to technical scrutiny.

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Hannah Jolliffe says:

21 July 2011

Hi Matt, thanks for posting your comments, we’re always glad to welcome companies to the discussion, however we have responded to all your concerns directly and feel this is taking the discussion off-topic.

So, back on-track, what are people’s ideas and tips to save energy and water in the home? Have you used a good product we haven’t thought of?

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energyman says:

21 July 2011

Would it please be possible for you to post how Much is “some” when describing the energy savings of the vphase unit, when it isn’t used with heating devices..? Does it save the 5-15% as suggested?

Tw

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Sylvia Baron says:

Hi

In our testing, the savings from the VPhase varied between 4% and 20% depending what it was connected to. The total saving on your bill will depend on the voltage coming into your house and what electrical devices you have in your house.
The VPhase website has quite a long list of elecrical savings that can be achieved for various products in the homes.
And look at your electricity bill. How much does 10% of it represent? And therefore how long would it take you to pay back the Vphase?
Average electricity bill (Ofgem data) are £424 per year. 10% would therefore be £42.40. And the VPhase sells at £300.
We think there are other ways you could easily save £40 a year on your electricity bill without spending £300.
For example: have you fitted energy-saving light bulbs everywhere possible in your home? Do you switch things off at the mains and do not leave chargers on when not in use? Do you use your appliances efficiently?

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rarrar says:

21 July 2011

Can you explain why creating a double glazed window using “Stormguard Window Insulation Kit ” a plastic film for £8 apparently doesnt save energy or money but creating a double glazed window by using another sheet of glass as in normal double glazing for £100’s does save energy and money .

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Sylvia Baron says:

Hello

The proporties of glass versus a thin film of plastic are quite different when it comes to heat transfer and heat loss. In addition the thickness of that material (a sheet of glass is much thicker) will also play a role. This is why 2 sheets of glass (with air trapped in between) will work better at stopping heat escaping than a sheet of glass and of thin plastic.

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rarrar says:

Double glazing works by using the insulating properties of the layer of still air trapped between the two surfaces . The heat conducting properties of the surfaces have little impact -also plastic has a lower conductivity than glass .
I’m not suggesting that glass double glazing is not better but that dismissing the use of plastic film all together is flawed – can you provide the actual test results and conditions used ?

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Phil says: