Annual standby consumption accounts for the equivalent of at least one monthly electricity bill for an average household. Moreover, it is expected that the number of electrical appliances with the standby or OFF mode in households (and offices buildings) will further increase (today, the standby mode can even be found with refrigerators and washing machines).

In January 2010, Regulation 1275/2008/EC, on standby electric power consumption came into force. According to this legislation, the standby consumption must not exceed 1 W, or 2 W, and the consumption in the OFF mode 1 W.

The current results of the measurements carried out in shops selling electrical appliances throughout Europe (in March 2010 the number of checked appliances was 3,000 out of the total target of 6,000) have revealed that about 30 % of products do not meet the requirements pertaining to the standby mode and 10 % of products the requirements for the OFF mode. The “worst” appliances include set-top boxes, loudspeakers, DVD recorders and hi-fi systems, whose average energy input in the standby mode is approximately 4 – 5 W.

From 2013 onwards, even stricter limits will be in force: 0.5 W in the OFF mode, and 0.5 W, or 1 W, in the standby mode. Furthermore, appliances will have to have the “auto-power down” function, i.e. they will have to automatically pass from the standby to the OFF mode.

One of the Regulation’s problematic aspects is that it does not set out requirements relating to the “network” standby. Simply put, this mode means the situation when an appliance is connected to the power supply and 1) waits for reactivation through the network (either in the wireless manner or through a cable it analyses the signals arriving through various transmission routes), and/or 2) maintains external transmission routes. In other words, the network mode can be in the case of a printer connected to a computer or appliances in smart households that can be controlled through the internet.

Consumption in the network mode reaches signifi - cant values. According to expert studies initiated by the European Commission (LOT 6 and LOT 26), it represents more than 50 % of the total consumption when appliances do not perform their main function (ON), in absolute fi gures at least 26 TWh/year for the entire European Union. With the increasing functions and interconnection of appliances, it can be expected that the consumption in this mode will further grow in the future.

The European Commission has launched a process that should result in a regulation specifying consumption in the network mode. At the present time, it is in the phase of preparation of an expert study that is scheduled to be published in February 2011. Accordingly, the respective measure cannot be expected earlier than after 2013.

Michaela Valentová
Email: michaela.valentova@svn.cz
Tel.: +420 224 252 115

The article is from News at SEVEn number 2/2010, which is available to download here.

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