Power consumption and hidden costs

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Power consumption and hidden costs




by Christophe » 12/07/07, 22:36

Here is an article (1er jet, draft) that I had written a few months ago for the network Sortir du Nucléaire but finally it did not happen. I tell you so to have some reaction before putting in article on the site.

Introduction and generalities

Fight against the construction of new nuclear power plants, it also means fighting the overconsumption of electrical energy. If there are electrical needs that are not compressible because related to the economic activity of the country, there are those who are much more and or each of us can be an actor: hidden electrical costs.

We do not mean hidden electrical costs:

1) a residual power consumption not entering the use phase of the device (standby or electric standby),
2) over-consumption due to improper adjustment, deterioration or lack of maintenance of the device (clogged resistance, frosted fridges ..)
3) an overconsumption compared to the data sheet indicated on the product (misleading advertising ...)

It is obviously very difficult to estimate overall for France these hidden costs but different figures are circulating and the consumption of appliances on standby would correspond annually to the electrical energy produced by a nuclear reactor! Suffice to say that it is a huge amount of energy and that reducing hidden costs is reducing the nuclear risk. We will estimate below this value.

At the beginning of last summer, a new one, not taken up by the big media so to take with tweezers, besides expressed the will of England to forbid on the new apparatuses the possibility of putting on standby electric. We imagine very well the industrial or energy consequences that such a measure could have if it were applied everywhere!

In the rest of this article we will detail what are the actual and hidden consumptions of some devices of current use and see briefly what are the possibilities, simple and affordable, to fight against these hidden costs.

Electric watches

There is no need to remember what an electric watch, let us focus on some common device measures. These measures are obviously indicative and vary depending on the type of equipment you have.

1) Television from: 5 to 30 W
2) VCR or Dvd player: from 5 to 20W
3) PC in Hibernation: 20 to 50W
4) Laptop cut but external power supply connected: 10 to 20W (see next paragraph)

So we quickly get a permanent consumption in standby can easily exceed 100W. Let us take 50W with 6h of daily use and 18h of standby on average, this induces an annual overconsumption close to 329 kwh (ie 20 € approximately).

Let's multiply this by the number of homes in France and we quickly obtain very important energies. So let's take 10 millions of homes and a consumption of 50W based on the same hourly ratios and we get 3290 Twh (1 Twh = 1000 Mwh) that is the energy production of an 900MW nuclear reactor running at full power during 3290 / 9 = 365 h.

Add to this the hidden costs of industrialists and companies, as well as the losses in the distribution line (roughly 5 to 10% by current transformation or overall distribution efficiency of: 0,9 to 0,95 at the power "number of transformer ") ... and a value close to 6 months of operation of a reactor.

In addition even cut (standby off) some hardware still consume, the best is to use switch power strip.

You will find on the Ademe's website a more detailed table of the current standby power consumption: http://www.ademe.fr/lorraine/energie/mde.html

Hidden costs

The following are the "hidden" electrical design costs of some commonly used appliances.

1) Small electrical transformers: used for small or very small household appliances (modem, answering machine, telephone-fax, computer and mobile phone, Palm ...). Some are directly molded into the socket (cell phone for example). These transformers transform 230V alternating current into low voltage direct current of a few W of useful power. This transformation is not "easy" to do and this explains (in part) the very low efficiency of such transformers rarely exceeds 20% ... in other words, 4W are wasted (in heat) for 1W useful sent to the device. . This also explains why most of these small transformers heat up: these 4W go entirely in heat.
To disconnect absolutely after use!

2) Microwaves: according to different tests, their effective efficiency is, at best, around 50%, so prefer an electric kettle with a yield higher than 80% to heat water.
3)
4) LED bulbs: the worst worse than good.
Appearing on the market a few months ago, many people think of saving money by installing LED bulbs. However, in many cases, the light output is catastrophic and much worse than CFL bulbs and even inferior to "classic" incandescent bulbs! This is explained by the fact that the seller and manufacturer do not take into account the transformation of the alternating current of the network into low voltage direct current usable by the LEDs, it is a bit the same problem as with the small transformers mentioned more high. We can therefore speak in many cases of false advertising! However, some more advanced model, such as those equipped with Edison LEDs, have better results and have a light output comparable to CFLs ... with a lifespan 5 times longer (at least on paper ...)
A wattmetre and a luxemeter is enough to convince himself.

How to fight against these "enemies" (almost) invisible?

We can not say it again enough, the resolution of the energy problem will also pass by a change of our (bad) habits. To help us in this fight, there are several objects to achieve savings that can be classified in 3 categories: evaluate, act and choose.

1) The evaluation can be done thanks to many wattmeter socket now available on the market. Their cost is affordable, generally less than 40 €. Be careful, however, with "white" material (understand unbranded) because their reliability is not guaranteed.
2) Act: do not leave in standby the devices that allow it, but also systematically disconnect the small transformer (how many people leave their laptop charger connected all the time including), use power strips switch (it exises even with several switches are multi-switch power strips, ideal for a socket like TV-VCR)
3) Choose better: we are all tempted by inexpensive equipment, unfortunately, it is those which generally present the most important hidden consumption and the least important lifespan. A better choice in the products you need will undoubtedly save you big money. But before buying such or such a household appliance, the main question is above all: do I really need this product? In many cases there are (still) "manual" alternatives. The example of the object: the electric box opener ...
Last edited by Christophe the 13 / 07 / 07, 21: 57, 2 edited once.
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by Christophe » 13/07/07, 13:30

Nobody think anything? : Cry:

It means it's ... perfect? : Mrgreen:
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by elephant » 13/07/07, 16:02

This is very true: in fact, the first LED bulbs appeared to reduce the after-sales costs of signal bulbs, as on traffic lights, eg.
To measure such low consumption I sacrificed a multiple socket or I plug my multimeter in series on the 10 A alternative caliber.
As for the charger of my GSM! Damn, he's stuck under the bed! There is no way to reach it! : Cheesy:
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elephant Supreme Honorary éconologue PCQ ..... I'm too cautious, not rich enough and too lazy to really save the CO2! http://www.caroloo.be
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by Christophe » 13/07/07, 20:21

elephant wrote:As for the charger of my GSM! Damn, he's stuck under the bed! There is no way to reach it! : Cheesy:


And to say that you are a supreme honorary econologist ... : Mrgreen:
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by elephant » 13/07/07, 20:55

yeah, but re-read what I wrote below: "and too lazy ..." :D
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by Woodcutter » 13/07/07, 21:29

Christophe wrote:Nobody think anything? : Cry:

It means it's ... perfect? : Mrgreen:
2 hate to enemy ... and 2 tea to fight!

Lots of mistakes everywhere ... Accents mistakes (not the Belgian accent ...) : Wink:)

For white objects, there is also a "hidden carbon cost" but that's another subject ...

But otherwise it's not bad! : Mrgreen:

(except that going out of the nuclear I do not really agree but .. :? )
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by Christophe » 13/07/07, 21:56

Pfff this lumberjack, yes it's a rough draft / 1er jet, the fotes have not been hunted for now (I said at the top)

2 hate to enemy ... and 2 tea to fight!


Uh ... It's Deproges or Devos? : Mrgreen:

For your () this is maybe a reason why I never finalized and sent the article ... finally on the other hand it would have done a little pub to econology ...
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by Christophe » 18/12/07, 11:41

Article online on the site (a little rectified): https://www.econologie.com/les-consommat ... -3563.html
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by the middle » 05/08/08, 18:48

Not bad,
Just a detail:
3) LED bulbs, the worst worse than good?

Appearing on the market in 2005, many people think to save money by installing LED bulbs.

However, in many cases, the light output is catastrophic and much worse than compact fluorescent bulbs and even inferior to "classic" incandescent bulbs! This is explained by the fact that sellers and manufacturers do not take into account the transformation of the alternating current of the network into low voltage direct current usable by the LEDs.

The aquariums are big eaters in lighting, in addition, it is necessary to regularly change the tubes (they tire quickly)
As the lighting of an aquarium is a short distance, the diodes find all their usefulness in this area (lower consumption-longevity)
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