does anyone know of a platform/forum where people measure and compare the energy consumption of their devices? I bought an energy metering plug, and now I can find out how much electricity my dishwasher, microwave, kettle, hairdryer, etc, consume. But I have no idea if their level of consumption is good or bad, unless I can compare with those of other people, to learn whether I should use different appliance settings, or even buy new appliances! Anyone know of a site of forum where I could get such info?
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1Be careful when interpreting the numbers from your energy meter. Many consumer metering devices are rather inaccurate when it comes to measuring low power(< 10 watts). Also be aware that different settings on a device may have a significant impact on electricity consumption (e.g. brightness levels on a TV).– THelperMay 14, 2016 at 9:06
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These are great answers, but I would like to see someone address what I see as a missing piece: The difference between what manufacturers or regulators estimate and what consumers actually experience! The experimental data from those groups is probably higher quality, but you never know if they missed something about how the product performs in the wild. Some kind of decentralized platform would be great to get at that, no?– capetSep 4, 2020 at 19:15
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2 Answers
tldr: Look at power rating of different appliances (show in W or kW typically), or most simply try to buy Energy Star appliances.
The first thing that you should know is that if you are trying to be as sustainable as possible the manufacture of the products must be considered. If the appliance has a short life or low energy consumption throughout its life then it is likely that the manufacturing methods (material use, process, etc) will contribute much more to the environmental impact of the product.
If you really wanted to have a somewhat accurate estimate of the impact of one appliance over another you should find or do LCA analyses. This typically is not practical for most small appliances, and realistically the differences may not be clear between products from different companies.
However, if you make the assumption that the manufacturing methods are similar between products and want to make a judgement solely on energy use you can try the following websites. Or try searching "database of energy consumption of appliances"
- https://www.energystar.gov/products?s=mega
- https://cacertappliances.energy.ca.gov/Pages/ApplianceSearch.aspx
- http://www.energyrating.gov.au/ (Australian database)
- http://www.tpcdb.com/ (Computer focused),
- http://www.energyefficiencydatabase.com/index.html
- http://eetd.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-184403.pdf (it sounds like this database should be useful once operational)
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Welcome to Sustainable Living! Nice first answer. I've added the links from your comment to your post.– THelperMay 14, 2016 at 14:46
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In many countries a lot of appliances must have the energy star rating and expected consumption on them when they're sold. Which means that that information is usually available even if it's not required where you are - the Australian database site, for example).– MóżMay 15, 2016 at 21:43
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Thanks a lot for the great links! I also found energyuse.eu which is supposed to be for people to measure actual consumption and share some tips. Site does exactly what I'm after, but sadly does not seem to be very active.– ClairMay 16, 2016 at 9:25
Multiply the power with time you use the device and concentrate your efforts on the key expenditure contributors. You should google for the typical and best devices in the class: what is normal and how good can it go and what are natural, environmental implications for producing the most energy efficient devices? Yes, that is also important. If you use a lamp once a year for couple of minutes then it may be not the best idea to buy an ultra-expensive and poisonous led lamps.
Actually, you better record your figures and lend the power meter to the friends. You do not need the meter anyway and you do not save environment if you buy individual stuff. You must share. The friends may report you their recordings as extra benefit. Meantime, you can approximate the consumers quite closely by plain your hand. The energy waste inevitably takes the form of heat (you may notice that light and sound do not take a lot of energy away). The evil is the entropy, the thermal motion at microscopic level and you increase the amount of evil when heat up anything. So, the warmer is the device, the more evil it is.
