MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY

Transcription

1 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY Michaela Valentova, Czech Technical University in Prague, Tel: , Jaroslav Knapek, Czech Technical University in Prague, Tel: , Abstract The total number of appliances consuming energy when not in use as well as the penetration rates of these appliances are growing steadily. Currently, standby consumption represents 11% of the total electricity demand (excluding electric space heating and electric hot water preparation) in European households, mostly concentrated in entertainment and office equipments (REMODECE 2008a). Standby power levels of individual appliances are expected to decrease in the future due to technological change (Fraunhofer IZM 2007) resulting from a range of regulatory measures within Europe mainly the standby regulation (EC 2008) and Ecodesign Directive (EC 2005), and internationally. In the same time, continuosly increasing electricity prices contribute to the higher motivation of final electricity consumers to search for energy savings. Nevertheless the potential savings resulting from these measures are not easily defined, as among others 1) number and penetration of appliances drawing power when not in use are expected to continue growing in future, 2) the current European regulatory measures do not cover the whole range of all low power modes (especially so called network mode is not covered yet) and 3) the lifetime (technical and social) of the appliances differs. The paper assesses various attainable levels of electricity savings resulting from reducing standby energy consumption. The energy savings potential is analysed taking into account the existing regulation, the lifetime of different appliances or their sales, as well as willingness of the users to change their behaviour (e.g. use simple standby reduction devices). Two domestic appliance categories, which are the most significant in terms of standby power in Central Eastern Europe (represented by the Czech Republic), are addressed: home entertainment equipment and office equipment. With respect to the retail store survey results, potential implications on the design of the products are examined and also use of simple standby reduction devices, as a complement to (hard) regulatory measures, is assessed. Introduction The issue of standby power use was first brought to international attention in the early 1990s. It became also known as leaking electricity and basically only concerned televisions or VCRs. Since then, standby power issue has developed significantly, both in terms of getting to know the problem, and in terms of appliance coverage. From the very narrow definition of power mode in which the appliance can be switched on and off by a remote control, standby modes have become much more complex and also the appliances drawing power when not performing their main function (the broad definition of standby) has become omnipresent since then 1. In the paper, standby power is considered as the broad mix of different low power modes under which the main function of the appliance is not being performed (eg. sleep mode at monitors or mode in which a clock is displayed). It is important to keep in mind that one appliance can (and very often does) have several standby modes. The off mode then means the appliance not performing any function 2. 1 Even though standby energy consumption is seen as a problem, as Harrington et al (2008) note, the core idea of putting the appliance into lower power mode when not in use, therefore lowering its energy consumption compared to when fully active, can be seen as beneficial. 2 Although it is discutable, whether eg storing data or programmes while the appliance is switched off also means no function or whether this off mode should be considered as a form of low power mode (thus standby mode).

2 The level of standby energy consumption is not negligible. Currently, it represents 11% of the total electricity demand in European households (excluding electric space heating and electric hot water preparation), mostly concentrated in entertainment and office equipments (REMODECE 2008a); studies from other parts of the world tend to show similar results (in e.g. Meier 2005 or Harrington et al. 2008). The development of policy response to the standby issue has been somewhat slower at the beginning, but in recent years, standby power reduction have become almost an integral part of energy efficiency policies. There are different standby power reduction initiatives in the world. The EU has come up with a Regulation on standby and off mode (EC 2008) adopted in the framework of the Eco-design directive (EC 2005). The regulation aims at cutting the standby consumption significantly (by 75% by 2020). Nevertheless, there are various potential loopholes and threats because of which the theoretical potential for savings may be difficult to be achieved. The paper thus assesses the standby power potential in Central and Eastern Europe (with the case of the Czech Republic as a specific example). The energy savings potential is analysed taking into account the existing regulation, the lifetime of different appliances or their sales. In the same time, the paper argues why the potential from the European regulation may be difficult to be realized and thus brings attention to the role of willingness of the users to change their behaviour by using simple standby reduction devices. In this, two domestic appliance categories, which are the most significant in terms of standby power in Central Eastern Europe (CEE, represented by the Czech Republic), are addressed: home entertainment equipment and office equipment. Methods Current status of standby power levels in the Czech Republic is assessed. Data on standby power of household appliances was collected in the Czech Republic during a metering survey commissioned in May 2008 in retail stores (CEU 2008). The first results from the 2009 survey in the Czech Republic, carried out in July August 2009, were also taken into account (SELINA) 3. For every appliance metered in a retailer stores the power was measured while the appliance was in standby (passive and/or active) and off mode 4, where applicable. This allowed to determine the power levels at different low power modes of the new stock of appliances. Data on features and attributes were also recorded. Furthermore, metering has been carried out in households (under REMODECE project 5 ), which gives an intuitive information on the standby power levels in the existing stock, as well as (more importantly for this paper) information on approximate penetration levels of respective appliances (REMODECE 2008a). First of all, potential savings of standby power consumption in the Czech Republic were assessed and discussed, differentiating between various types of potentials. The probable impacts of the current Regulation on standby and off-mode (EC 2008) are used as reference. The calculations however do not have the ambition to provide exact figures on different potential, but using the very up-to-date data they serve as indication of the standby losses which need to be dealt with and also provide a basis for further discussion on standby power issue development in the Czech Republic as well as in the whole CEE region. The lifetime of the appliances 6 in question and their penetration rate is the key aspect, but consumer behavior patterns are also considered and analyzed. For this, the national electricity savings potential achievable 3 These preliminary results were obtained under the SELINA project, which aims at characterization of the standby and off-mode electricity consumption of new appliances in the market. More on the project and also the results of the survey can be found at the project website: NB Not exactly the same set of appliances were measured in Therefore, where available, the 2009 are used, otherwise, the data from 2008 are included. In the results section, both sets of data are used for comparison. 4 The detail definition of all the relevant modes can be found in (CEU 2008). 5 The REMODECE project was carried out in 12 European countries. It evaluated the potential electricity savings that exist in the residential sector in Europe that can already be implemented by existing means. Further information on the project can be found at its official website

3 3 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY through usage of simple standby reduction devices (switch socket power boards a multiple socket power board with a manual switch or a more sophisticated standby killer ) was estimated. Two main appliance categories were analysed: home entertainment (television and its peripheral appliances) and office equipment. Home entertainment was defined as a television (main appliance) with a DVD player or recorder, a set top box and other appliances as peripherals. Office equipment consisted of a desktop computer as the main appliance with monitor, printer, and speakers as peripherals. A reference site was developed for each set of equipment (home entertainment site and office equipment site) using the relative penetration rate of peripherals compared to the main appliance as found in real households in the reference countries (REMODECE 2008a). The following formula was used, separately for entertainment and office equipment: S hh ( PMS ) Esite Pmain P ( GWh/ year) = N 1 (1) Where E site = E main + N k = 1 ( E ap P ap ) Where P S = Potential savings, N hh = number of households in the country (CZSO 2008a), P MS = usage of multiple sockets with a switch in households (%) (REMODECE 2008a), E site = electricity saved per one site (kwh/year) (see calculation below), P main = penetration rate of the main appliances (televisions or desktops) (number of appliance per 100 households) (CZSO 2008a, CZSO 2008b), E ap = average standby electricity consumption of one peripheral from the site (kwh/year), E main = average standby electricity consumption of the main appliance of the site (television, desktops) (kwh/year), P ap = relative penetration rate of the particular peripheral appliance compared to the main appliance (REMODECE 2008a), N = number of peripherals in the site. The savings potential at a reference site was defined here as the difference between the total electricity consumption of a newly equipped site and one with the same equipment where the standby reduction devices are employed. It thus does not count with the existing stock and its technological change, but rather explores the behavioral aspect of eliminating standby losses. The yearly standby electricity consumption of one appliance (E main in case of the main appliance and E ap for the peripherals) is calculated using the weighted average of power levels of relevant modes according to the application of these modes for the given appliance (usage data from REMODECE project), multiplied by the number of hours per year in other than on mode (data from Fraunhofer IZM 2007). The total standby electricity consumption per site (E site ) is calculated as the sum of the standby electricity consumption of the parts: the total yearly consumption of the main appliance added to the consumption of the peripherals possibly connected to the main equipment, which were weighted according to their relative penetration. It was possible to derive this data from the REMODECE household metering survey, where data on penetration of various appliances was collected from 500 households (REMODECE 2008b). A typical site was thus created as one main appliance and the relative appearance of different types of relevant peripherals. In the calculation of the overall potential savings, in order to take into account the households which have already been using standby reduction devices, these households were deducted from the total potential savings (1-P MS ). Data on the usage of switched socket power boards was derived from the survey of the REMODECE project (REMODECE 2008b). 6 Indeed, there is a difference between technical lifetime and moral lifetime of the appliances. However important this is in terms of assessing the potential, it is not possible, in the scope of this paper, to differentiate between those in greater detail, nor is it needed for the calculations used.

4 The economic feasibility of both switched socket power boards and standby killer is further assessed through the costs of conserved energy (CCE). The CCE formula helps to compare the saving measure with the electricity prices (Lung et al. 2005). The following equation has been used (based on Stoft 1995): CCE = AC sk site ( EUR / kwh ) (2) E site where: AC SK C d = 1 (1 + d) n and E site = E main + N k = 1 ( E ap P ap ) Where CCE site = cost of conserved energy for the site, for which the standby reduction device is used, AC sk = annualized costs of a standby reduction device /switched socket power board (EUR/year), E site = electricity saved per year per one site (kwh/year), E ap = average standby electricity consumption of one peripheral from the site (kwh/year), E main = average standby electricity consumption of the main appliance of the site (television, desktops) (kwh/year), P ap = relative penetration rate of the particular peripheral appliance compared to the main appliance (REMODECE 2008a), C = cost of a standby reduction device (EUR), d = annual discount rate, n = lifetime of a standby reduction device, e.g. duration of the conservation measure, N = number of peripherals in the site. The cost of conserved energy means the annualized costs of the particular standby reduction device divided by the saved electricity consumption of a site, for which it is used. The annualized costs depend on three factors: the cost and lifetime of the device and the discount rate. The cost of a standby killer is 10 EUR for computer site and 12 EUR for television site (SavePower, n.d.), the switched socket power board is 6 EUR. The lifetime of these devices (of the measure) is considered to be 5 years. Standby power how big is the problem? Standby issue is characterized by a slight paradox. Standby power levels for individual appliances are relatively low (usually it is maximum units of watts), but altogether the overall standby electricity consumption can reach significant levels. In the preparatory study for the European Commission Regulation on standby and off mode, it has been estimated that the current levels of standby and off mode electricity consumption amount to 47 TWh (in 2005) and that without any action, this consumption will increase to 49 TWh in 2020 (Fraunhofer IZM 2007). Other study showed that in the European Union, standby energy consumption in residential sector currently amounts to 11% of the household electricity consumption (excluding electric space heating and electric hot water preparation) (REMODECE 2008a). Similar level of standby energy use in residential electricity consumption have been found in survey carried out in Australia 12% (Energy Efficient Strategies, 2006), and the campaign commissioned in Californian homes showed that the standby energy consumption represents 13% of the households electricity consumption (Meier et al. 2008) 7. The reasons for this relatively high share (compared to small standby power values at individual appliances) are basically two fold. First of all, the number of appliances, which draw power when not in use, in 7 The paper focuses on standby in residential sector, although it is evident that standby consumption is significant in tertiary sector as well. Currently, there are only few studies dealing with standby in tertiary sector and further research in this area would definitely be helpful. Some more information can be found in (Meier 2005).

5 5 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY households is high 8 and is also likely to grow in future, and secondly, all these appliances will spend most of the time in some of the low power modes, rather that in use 9. In the CEE region, the share of standby in households is estimated to be about 8% of the residential electricity consumption (Valentova, ). Lower share compared to the EU averege is most probably caused by lower penetration rates of the main appliances responsible for standby, such as office equipement as well as home entertainment, compared to the EU average. Yet, it can be expected that the share will converge to the levels of the rest of the EU. Home entertainment Home entertainment represents one of the two most important categories contributing to standby consumption in households 11. It cuts about 40% share of the residential standby electricity consumption. The core appliance of the home entertainment is a television. There are now basically four types of televisions (CRT, LCD, Plasma and OLED), of which only two are currently dominating the sales in shops. The most prevalent type of televisions, currently sold in the retail stores, are the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) televisions, which are also expected to be the dominant technology in the near future (REMODECE, 2008b), the second one being Plasma televisions. On the other hand, the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) televisions, still prevalent in the existing stock (in households), are considered an obsolete technology, and thus basically stopped being sold in the retail stores. This trend is also visible from the results of the retail store survey commissioned in the Czech Republic in two consecutive years. In 2008, the CRT televisions were still on display and thus were measured, whereas in 2009, there were hardly any televisions of this type found. The OLED (Organic light-emitting diode) televisions are on the opposite side of the product cycle, at the very beginning and only 1 or 2 of this type were spotted in the ratail store in From standby point of view, the worst are the CRTs. The average passive standby mode (meaning a state when the TV is switched off by a remote control or by standby button) at CRTs was 4.1W. All the other television types when switched off by a remote control, drew less than 1W (Fig 1, Left). This difference may probably be attributed to the (above mentioned) fact that the CRT is a rather obsolete technology as such and thus the producers do not invest into reducing the standby. Most of the televisions currently on display do not feature a proper hard-off switch or it is hard to reach (in the back of the television), thus can practically only be switched to a standby mode. Nevertheless, the difference between power levels in off mode and standby mode are minimum and even in off mode, the new types of televisions still draw (minimum) power 12 (Fig. 1, Left). 8 Australian study found about 28 appliances drawing some power when not in use, and other ca 15, which were unplugged, but would draw standby power if connected (Energy Efficient Strategies, 2006). In the CEE region, the average number of appliances was about 10 (Valentova, 2007). 9 For example, a typical medium size television (CRT) consumes ca 100 watts when on, and, on average, 5-watts when on standby. Therefore, if TV is watched 1 hour per day, the total costs for electricity when on standby will be higher than total costs when in on mode. Same can be said for VCRs or DVDs (REMODECE, 2008a). 10 The numbers represent the results from Hungary. However, as seen e.g. in REMODECE, 2008 or in CEU (2008), the differences between the two countries: Czech Republic and Hungary in terms of standby electricity consumption are minimal. 11 The other one being office equipment analysed below. 12 Conversely to the CRT televisions, which always draw 0W when turned off by the hard-off switch.

6 Figure 1 Average powers of passive standby mode and off mode of televisions in the Czech Republic in 2008 and 2009 (left). Average powers of passive standby mode and active standby mode of DVD/BR players, Hard Disk Recorders, Home Theatre Systems and Set Top Boxes in the Czech Republic in 2008 and 2009 (right). The most common peripheral with televisions are various versions of players and recorders, such as VCRs, DVDs and HDRs (hard disk recorders 13 ). VCRs are already practically non-existent in the retail stores, unless combined with DVD players. HDRs, on the other hand, have been growing in availability and penetration in Central Eastern Europe. Power data for these appliances are presented in Fig 1 (right). Common feature of all the metered home entertainment peripherals is that vast majority of them does not feature a hard-off switch. This means the off mode is basically non-existent. When a DVD or HDR is switched off with remote control, or by a standby switch, it goes to passive standby mode. Active standby then means the mode when the appliance is switched on, and the no disc sign appears, waiting for start. While both active and passive standby modes are often used, and may seem to the users as if the appliances were switched off, in fact energy is being consumed, but no task is performed. The passive standby power was found to be an average of 1W for DVD players, 4.9W to 4.2W in case of HDRs and around 1W at Home Theatre Systems. The difference between passive and active standby powers is large: over 5W in case of DVD players, and almost 20W for HDR and Home Theatre Systems (Fig. 1.). Set top boxes are penetrating quickly into households and are widely sold in the stores in the Czech Republic. They were taken as part of a general TV site because with the currently ongoing transition to digital broadcasting, the already increasing trend is likely to continue. There were 24 set top boxes measured in 2008 and 11 so far in The appliances were metered in active and in passive standby modes, in 2009 only in passive mode. Off mode was measured only if an off switch was found on the appliance, (in 15 cases of the whole sample). When switched off completely none of the appliances drew power. The average power in on mode and passive standby mode was very similar, 6.9W and 5.7W (and 4.4W) respectively. Office equipment The core part of the office equipment is the computer desktop. Desktops however could not be metered in the survey, because these are not sold in large amounts in electronics stores. For the calculation of the savings potentials further in the text, data were taken from the REMODECE project, where the measurements were carried out in homes. The average off mode power of desktops was 3W. To partially replace desktops, laptops were measured in their off mode 14. The difference in off mode power levels in the given years (1.2W and 0.6 W respectively) is given by the change in methodology. In 2008, laptops were measure with battery, whereas in 2009, they were measured with battery outside. An office site must include some form of output device, which is typically a monitor. The stores visited did not offer the traditional, CRT monitors any more, neither models of TFT technology; thus only LCD monitors were available. Almost three quarters of the monitors measured in 2009 (14 out of 19) had an energy label 13 Hard disk recorder was defined as a DVD recorder, which has a hard disk feature. These are currently more available then recorders with only possibility to record on DVD. 14 Also, laptops seem to show higher sales for the last 2 3 years, thus more orientation of retail stores towards these compared to desktops.

7 7 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY including information on standby mode, Energy Star and/or TCO 03. In 2008, the share was lower, less than a half (11 out of 26). Monitors are in off mode, when switched off with the button, and are in passive standby mode, when left switched on but they go into a sleep mode automatically, and become black. These modes had almost the same power levels (the average of passive standby power was 0.7W to 0.8W in the respective years, and off mode power was 0.6W for both years) (Fig. 2, left). Many of the domestic office sites already include printers and these are widely available in electronic shops. The decision among various printers (inkjet and laser printers) or the more advanced version, a multi function device, depends on the quality of printing the household requires and the price of the printer and cartridge. However, information is not available on the energy consumption or standby power of these devices to the customer. Figure 2 Average powers of passive standby mode, off mode and active standby modes monitor, laptop and computer speakers (left). Average powers of off mode and active standby modes of printers and MFDs (right). Printers when not in use are either switched off with the button (off mode), or left on-line (active standby mode). As seen in Figure 2 (right) switching off is particularly energy saving in case of laser printers (9.7W difference between off mode and standby powers, as off mode power was always 0W). Inkjet printers and MFD featured a non-zero off mode power level. Inkjet printers had almost four times higher standby power than off mode power (average off mode power was 0.7W, with active power level of 2.7W). In case of MFD 15, both values were higher (average off mode power was 1.9W, with active power level of 5.5W). The values were higher when a display was present on the device. Office sites commonly incorporate speakers, which are plugged in the computers 16. These appliances also offer savings by encouraging switching off, because the standby powers (hard-off button is on, but the speakers are not producing sounds) were found to be about double size compared to off mode (when the user turns off the appliance manually). Other appliances Although home entertainment and office equipment are the most important categories of appliances in terms of standby consumption, they are by far not the only ones. It is not the aim of this paper (nor is it practically possible) to give a full account of all appliances and their standby. However, there are some categories outside the two main important ones, which deserve attention; firstly, because consumers do not tend to correlate standby consumption with them and secondly, because with growing number of functions in the appliances, these may grow in importance in future. This is mainly the case of white appliances. There were washing machines and dishwashers measured during both surveys. All the appliances were measured in off mode, in active standby mode (programme being set and waiting to be started) and in delay start, if present. In both years, about 20% of the washing machines (12 out of 57 and 14 out of 66) drew power when in off mode (and thus performing no function at all) of an 15 MFD means multi-functional device, i.e. a device which includes printer, scanner and copier. 16 The earlier solutions, where monitor included integrated speakers, are not found in the shops any more.

8 average of 1W. The rest had 0W off mode. The active mode and delay start mode were relatively similar, 2.7W in active mode in both years with delay start power levels of 3.9W in 2009 and 3.7W in In 2008 survey, all dishwashers drew 0 W in off mode, in 2009, there were 2 out of 22 dishwashers using energy when switched off (0.6W and 2.4W). The average active mode reached 2.1W with average delay start power of 2.5W. Even though refrigerators could not be measured in the retail stores, they may represent another appliance type, at which some sort of standby power may be expected in future. Already recently, the trend has been to have intelligent refrigerators and related to this, one may expect growing standby power levels within this category as well. From the cooking appliances, the most obvious appliance with standby is the microwave, or more precisely the usually present clock display. When such display is present and is not switched off manually, the average power currently reaches 1.8W. If the display is not present or can be disactivated, the microwaves usually draw zero or close to zero Watts. Yet, other kitchen appliances, such as coffee machines, represent also rather important source of standby consumption. The average off mode at coffee machines was 1.3W in 2009 and 1.6W in However, dependent on the functions and complexity of the appliance, the power ranged from 0 W up to 3 W. One example for all in the abundance of new appliances appearing every year, practically non existent in the Czech market in 2008, there were some 8 models of digital photo frames found in only one retail store in The average power in off mode was 0.8W 18. Being only couple drops in the sea, this one example illustrates what makes the standby definitions and resulting efforts to reduce the leaking electricity so complicated and complex the constant increase in products with standby, change in product definitions and their functionality. Energy saving potentials Regulatory measures In 2007, the electricity consumption in households in the Czech Republic reached about GWh. Assuming electric heating and hot water preparation represents about 16% of the residential electricity consumption in the Czech Republic (Bertoldi and Atanasiu 2007) and thus deducing it from the final consumption, it can be estimated that ca 984 GWh per year is attributed to standby and off mode consumption (ca 8% of the final electricity consumption, excluding electric heating and hot water preparation). Therefore, this almost 1 TWh/year represents the technical potential to reduce standby consumption in the Czech Republic. To put this number into a framework, it is comparable to ca 7 to 8 days of the whole Czech Republic final electricity consumption (including all sectors). The press release accompanying the European Commission Regulation on standby and off mode 19 stipulates that thanks to the regulatory measures, some 75% of the standby consumption could be reduced by In the Czech case, it would mean cutting the standby consumption in households by 738 GWh. According to the Regulation (EC 2008), from 2010 the power consumption of the listed appliances 20 in any off-mode must not exceed 1W. Similarly, the appliances in their standby mode (defined as offering a reactivation function or more broadly a reactivation function and an information or status display) should not draw more than 1W or 2W respectively. 17 There are no data for the Czech Republic available to the authors, but for example in the UK, some 1.8 million pieces were sold in However, it may be assumed most owners will keep the photo frame running and maybe falling in some way of active standby mode (consulted 31st August 2009) 20 The equipment that falls under the requirements is specifically listed in the Regulation, but thanks to bullet point other appliances, it basically entails all the appliances available in household and tertiary sector.

9 9 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY Looking at the current preliminary 2009 store survey results, it seems that most appliances will have complied with the off mode requirement by January However, there are quite a few appliances which so far exceed the Regulation requirements on standby mode power levels. This is the case for the recording devices and also for the more and more ubiquitous set top boxes. DVD/VCRs found in retails stores draw 3.5W on average when switched off to passive standby mode (by a remote control or by a standby switch), hard disk recorders and set top boxes consume about 1W more in this mode (4.2W and 4.4W respectively). Similarly, the integrated stereo systems (Hi-Fi) consume 4.5W in passive standby mode 22. In general it means, that in order to comply with the Regulation, the standby power at all these appliances will have to go down ca twice by January The other possibility (and also one of the potential loopholes as described e.g. in Harrington et al. 2008) is that the producers will claim that the appliance actually provides some additional function (on top of reactivation function or information display) and thus does not need to comply with the standby mode requirement (this is also the case for complying with the off mode requirement). The drawback then is that obviously most users will keep the appliances in this (higher) mode, not knowing about it. Furthermore, the Regulation opens a potential threat for gaming. The Regulation states that [e]quipment shall, except where this is inappropriate for the intended use, provide off mode and/or standby mode, in order to prevent producers to circumvent this obligation by just not providing an off or standby mode. Nevertheless, the Regulation does not stipulate that the appliances need to be able to stay in these modes easily, i.e. it may be difficult for the user to activate this function or he may be forced to give up some functionality (e.g. clock) by this (Harrington et al. 2008). Last, but not least, the Regulation does not restrict the more and more prevalent network functions (i.e. modes in which the product is networked with other equipment), which are very likely to become common in the households. Given the above possible threats, the saving potential of 75% by 2020 may be still difficult to be achieved. The Regulation provides a good basis for fighting the standby consumption. However, a good monitoring system will be needed to ensure compliance and in addition, it is likely that the Regulation will have to be adapted or complemented in order to meet the new or additional challenges and loopholes in standby. Another obvious drawback to the Regulation is that it does not deal with the existing stock of appliances. Given the lifetime of appliances (either technical, or moral), at least in the short and medium term, other policy instruments may be needed to curb the standby consumption in the existing stock. In other words, until the measures are fully implemented (and later complementing them), users alone can contribute to the reduction of their energy consumption and therefore financial losses. The most obvious way is through usage of simple standby reduction devices. Saving potential through use of simple standby reduction devices It is clear from the data analysis that standby energy consumption increases with the time the devices spend in any of the modes that have higher power than the lowest option and also with the increasing number of devices per site. Similarly, in modern homes people are reluctant to sacrifice comfort and convenience by switching off equipment manually. This implies that preferred supporting solutions will be to be able to manage all appliances at the same time and/or to use remote controls. Technological improvement, partially pressed by regulatory changes can force to modify the energy characteristics of new products and lower the standby power. However, this is not a solution for reducing energy consumption of the existing stock of products and also, even with technological progress, standby consumption is not likely to disappear (as discussed above). A solution to this problem could be the 21 The only exception being portable CD players with average off mode of 2W, computer speakers with 2.7W and coffee machines with average off mode of 1.3W. 22 About a third of them (8 out of 21) already offered an eco-mode, in which the display can be switched off, and the power then goes down to less than 1W. 23 At all the measured appliances, there were units which have already complied with the rule.

10 employment of standby reduction devices, such as switched socket power boards or the more sophisticated standby killers 24. Yet, it appears that there are several reasons that may prevent a larger penetration of the standby reduction devices into the market. The major barriers are the need for behavioural changes in case of switched socket power boards, lack of information both on the importance/magnitude of standby consumption and the possibility to reduce it, lack of interest in the standby problem on behalf of consumers (due to the relatively trivial energy associated with each individual device) and as a result, the lack of supply of more sophisticated standby killers on the market. These devices should be more effective than manual switching as they generally do not require direct user intervention for them to be effective. The level of electricity savings at an average home entertainment and office equipment site (for which these devices are the most effective) in all households, taking into account the willingness to use switched socket power boards is shown in Table 1. The savings are calculated from equation (1). Table 1 Potential electricity savings in the Czech Republic using standby reduction device Penetration of switched socket power board Electricity savings home entertainment site (kwh/year) Electricity savings - office equipment site (kwh/year) Overall potential savings (GWh/year) Based on the data from a survey of new products in stores, the average electricity savings of the two main types of equipment home entertainment and office equipment were calculated. The potential savings from the two average sites in the household mount to 31kWh/year for home entertainment and almost 28kWh/year for office equipment. Surveys have been carried out in the Czech Republic (REMODECE 2008a) to determine the awareness on standby energy consumption and to assess consumers willingness to act. In the surveys, more than 50% of the respondents (51.3%) claimed to have already been using the switched socket power boards to disconnect the appliances from the mains when not in use. Taking into account that half of the sampled population already possesses switched socket power boards, the overall national potential savings from all domestic home entertainment and office sites is 116 GWh/year (61 GWh/year for all television sites and 55 GWh/year for the office sites, Tab 1). Yet, this number seems to be rather underestimated, given the survey sample, which favored respondents with an existing strong interest in energy and energy savings. Thus, when assuming only 10% of the whole population possesses (and actually uses) the multiple switch power boards, the potential for savings increases up to 214 GWh per year. This value corresponds approximately to 2 day total final electricity consumption including all sectors in the Czech Republic. It is important to note that it was not possible to measure all relevant appliances in the recent survey of retail outlets. For example, there is a growing share of households connected to broadband internet 25, which requires a modem and sometimes a router as well. Even though these appliances are not in standby mode (they run continuously), their electricity consumption would be reduced when switched socket power boards are used in conjunction with a computer (so the modem is off when the computer is off). Moreover, even 24 This is a device resembling a switched socket power board, which connects the main appliance (such as a TV) with its peripherals. When the main appliance is shut down, the device cuts the electricity from the peripherals, therefore saving the standby consumption. The advantage of the device is the convenience, often demanded by users, because the standby killer senses the remote switch on from the remote control (remote remains active). It can be used with the computer and its peripherals in a similar way. 25 About 10% in 2007 (CZSO 2008b)

11 11 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY though there is no official data available, it is likely that the actual penetration of the switched socket power boards on national level is lower than in the survey sample, mostly due to sampling methods and sample characteristics of the survey, which favored respondents with an existing strong interest in energy and energy savings. Given these assumptions and limitations, the savings potential stated above is likely to be significantly underestimated. The savings resulting from usage of a standby reduction device are obvious. Yet, even when the households are aware of the possibility to reduce standby power levels, the major concern among consumers is the loss of convenience in case of switched socket power boards (need to switch the power supply manually) and also the economic effectiveness of the measure. The concern for the inconvenience of using switched socket power boards is solved in the case of the more sophisticated standby killer, because the user does not suffer a reduction in convenience. The economic feasibility of both standby reduction devices is further examined below. The CCE in Table 2 is calculated from equation (2). Table 2 Cost of conserved energy of standby reduction devices Cost of a standby killer (EUR) Cost of multiple socket with a switch (EUR) Electricity savings per site (kwh/year) CCE for standby killer (EUR/kWh) CCE for multiple socket (EUR/kWh) Television site ,08 0,04 Computer site ,08 0,05 Table 2 shows that both standby reduction devices are economically advantageous for the households as their cost of conserved energy is significantly lower than the normal household tariff. The average price of electricity for households is 0.17 EUR/kWh (ERO 2008), whereas the CCE states that every kwh saved through the standby reduction device costs 0.04 to 0.08 EUR, therefore it is less expensive than the energy consumed. It is clear that the major issue in increasing the usage of multiple socket power boards or standby killers is the users awareness and information transaction costs connected with purchasing and using these devices. A good practice example in a successful introduction of these devices is Denmark, in which after a national campaign, currently about 25% of all households possess a standby killer. Annual savings are estimated to be more than 80 GWh/year 26 so far (about 20% of the total potential) (Jensen and Fjordbak 2009). Considering that the penetration rate of a wide range of electronic devices in the home and their associated functionality is likely to increase in the future, the spread and popularisation of reduction devices might be an alternative solution for the standby consumption problem in households in the short and medium term. Conclusions Standby energy use represents a significant portion of residential, as well as tertiary electricity consumption. In the same time, reducing standby energy consumption represents a low hanging fruit. There are several standby policies present all over the world. The EU Eco-design Directive, adopted in 2005, forms a framework that obliges manufacturers of energy-using products to reduce energy need or environmental harm at the design phase. Under this Directive, the regulation on standby and off mode electric power consumption was adopted in December 2008 (EC 2008). The regulation should bring a significant reduction of off mode and standby mode power losses at selected appliances. Therefore, after the technological changes due to the Eco-design Directive, standby consumption is expected to drop considerably. Nevertheless, there are two conflicting trends, which make this statement less obvious. Firstly, supporting the statement, standby energy use will decrease over time at individual appliances thanks to technological 26 Given the methodology, Jensen and Fjordbak (2009) claim this a very conservative estimate.

12 improvements (supported by the regulatory measures). Secondly though, more appliances using power when not in use (in all countries, not only the Czech Republic and other CEE countries) together with change (increase) in functionality and features in the products (more network products) may all contribute to increasing the overall low power mode electricity consumption and reduce the saving potential brought by the Regulation. The paper concludes that in Central Eastern Europe, at the national level the theoretical energy saving from the EU regulatory measures is significant. Nevertheless, there are pitfalls in fully realizing the expected theoretical potential. The paper thus shows on various examples, that the difference between the theoretical potential and the actual achieved potential may still remain rather high. Other policy measures may thus be required in order to further reduce standby energy consumption and to cost effectively realize to a larger extent the theoretical potential that lies at hand. The study shows, that in short and medium term, an alternative solution may be the higher usage of simple standby reduction devices. Even though power consumption in standby and other low power modes at individual appliances is small, it has been proved that using standby reduction devices at selected, appropriate set of appliances is economically feasible for the households and can bring significant energy savings. References Bertoldi, P. and Atanasiu, B Electricity consumption and efficiency trends in the enlarged European Union - Status report Ispra: Institute Environment and Sustainability. Available at Central European University (CEU), 2008, Appliance Standby Power Consumption Store Survey 2007/2008 Czech Republic. Warragul, Australia: Energy Efficient Strategies Pty Ltd (EES). Available at: CZSO (The Czech Statistical Office ), 2004, Energo CZSO (The Czech Statistical Office), 2008a, Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2007 CZSO (The Czech Statistical Office), 2008b, Information society in numbers 2008 Available at: Energy Efficient Strategies, Intrusive Residential Standby Survey Report. March. ERO (Energy regulatory office), 2008, The Price decision of the Energy Regulatory Office for year 2009 Available at: pdf European Commission (EC), 2005, Directive 2005/32/EC on the Eco-design of Energy-using Products European Commission (EC), 2008, Regulation 1275/2008/EC (on standby and off mode electric power consumption of electrical and electronic household and office equipment) Fraunhofer IZM, 2007, EuP Preparatory Study Lot 6 Standby and Off-mode Losses: Task 3 Consumer Behaviour and Local Infrastructure, Available at: Harrington,L., Siderius,H.-P.Ellis,M., 2008, Standby Power: building a coherent international policy framework. ACEEE 2008 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Pacific Grove, California, August 2008 Jensen, A.H. and Fjordbak T., 2009, AutoPowerOff plug banks a story with energy saving perspectives. ECEEE 2009 Summer Study. Act! Innovate! Deliver! Reducing energy demand sustainably, La Colle sur Loup, 1 6 June 2009 Lung, R.B., McKane, A., Leach, R. and Marsh, D Ancillary savings and production benefits in the evaluation of industrial energy efficiency measures. Publication number LBNL Berkeley: ACEEE. Meier, A Standby: where are we now? In Proceedings of the ECEEE 2005 Summer Study: Energy Savings: What works & who delivers? in Mandelieu, France, on May 30 June 4, Meier, A., B. Nordman, et al Low Power Mode Energy Consumption in California Homes. Report CEC , California Energy Commission, Public Interest Energy Research Program, Sacramento, California. Available at:

13 13 MYTHS AND FACTS ON STANDBY POWER ENERGY SAVING POTENTIAL CZECH REPUBLIC CASE STUDY REMODECE, 2008a, Residential Monitoring to Decrease Energy Use and Carbon Emissions. Final report. Avaiable at REMODECE. 2008b. D9: Report with the result of the surveys based on questionnaires for all countries. Valentova, M Low power mode electricity consumption in Hungarian households: how big is the problem and what is the potential to mitigate it? Master of Science thesis, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Budapest. Acknowledgements These results were obtained with the contribution of a research project Development, Reliability and Security of Electric Power Systems granted by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, as part of the project SELINA supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme and also as part of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate Change (APP).