So, after casting aspersions on the XBox and its power-hungry whirrings, I soon found I had a lot to learn about the energy consumption of many household gadgets. And it all started over a nice piece of toast and a cup of tea.
The toast was the first shocker...
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My point of comparison for the 'worst culprit' in the house was still the games console, which had pushed the Wattson's display up to 670 watts. So when I popped in two slices of bread for my breakfast yesterday I was rather dismayed to see it climb to 1650. musing on how I would never see a bit of toast as quite the throwaway commodity I always had done until now, I reminded myself that it takes only a minute or two to cook, so perhaps it's not too much of a disaster after all. Making a cup of tea was a similar experience, as the numbers rose to 1900.
Little did I know, there was worse...far worse yet to come! The washing machine (on at 40 degrees to tackle two towels in need of a thorough cleansing) had the figures shooting up and down for the duration of the wash, turning the Wattson into less of a mood lamp and into something you might expect to find in a mobile disco. The numbers were well into the high thousands as the warm wash kicked in, and this continued for the hour or so it takes to wash a load of dirty linen.
I wouldn't normally use the tumble dryer, but having a lot of washing to deal at once and on a pretty gloomy day, I succumbed.
Ouch!
The display shot up to a dizzying 2600 watts the moment I switched on the dryer, and didn't lower much at all during the 90 minute cycle. This will certainly make me think very seriously about how I dry my clothes in future. So the dryer so far is the worst offender in terms of energy guzzling gadgets. Next to try are my beloved GHD hair straightners, which I'm hoping won't be giving me any nasty surprises.
You'll be hearing from the other testers soon, all of whom are rigging their devices up tonight. Unfortunately, Dan has had to drop out of the test, as he can't get access to his electricity meter (something you may well want to check if you're interested in buying a Wattson, OWL or similar). But he'll be replaced by Shiny Shiny's Lucy Hedges, who'll be providing us with another gadget-freak's perspective.
Hello from across the pond! Here in the US, it seems the most common electricity tracking device is something called a Kill-a-Watt.
I, too, was amazed how much electricity my coffee maker consumed. The initial brewing process eats a lot, no matter what you use. Coffee maker models with a glass carafe will keep the coffee warm after brewing with a hot plate base. It doesn't run continuously, but is good for frequent 500 watt blasts. I've since switched to a coffee maker with an insulated carafe. It consumes electricity only during initial brewing. It will keep coffee hot for up to 4 hours with no more energy input.
Additionally, I use a permanent, washable, 'gold tone' filter instead of throwing paper ones out every day.
Hi Dave
Not heard of the Kill-a-Watt, but I'm lovnig the name!
I'm a big fan of using anything that keeps hot drinks warm for longer (which, being a Brit, is more often than not a nice teapot!) But it's easy to get out of the habit of using one, making multiple cups and watching the electricity creep up. Your carafe sounds like a good solution...
There is a clothes dryer alternative called a spin dryer, which uses approximately 1/100th of the energy that a conventional
tumble dryer does. More information is available at http://www.laundry-alternative.com/spin_dryer_release.htm
Of course line drying is the most energy-efficient option, but a spin dryer is good for damp weather, and for people who aren´t willing to line dry.