The Hindu : New Delhi News : Now you know what inflates your power bill

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 03, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Now you know what inflates your power bill

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

25 p.c. of power generated in Delhi is wasted by putting electronic gadgets on `standby mode'

NEW DELHI: With a television on standby mode consuming 22 watts of power, a microwave oven 6 watts, UPS or inverters 40 watts and even mobile chargers using 5 watts when plugged in but not being used, the improper use of such gadgets in Delhi is as per a study resulting in loss of about 175 MW or 25 per cent of all electricity generated in the Capital.

Noting that the total loss due to gadgets being left on standby use amounts to around Rs 615 crores per annum, the study, as per distribution company sources, points out that consumers generally leave their electronic gadgets in "standby mode". Noting that as against 25 per cent loss in Delhi, the figure is 10 per cent in the United States and 7 per cent in France, the report calls upon consumers to completely "switch off" gadgets when they are not being used so that precious electricity is saved.

It points out that a microwave oven consumes more electricity powering its digital clock than it does heating food and still most of them are left on "standby" mode almost 99 per cent time.

Coming out with such interesting facts, the study also gives out the consumption of several other innocuous looking gadgets of daily use which consume substantial amounts of power even when on standby mode. The compact audio system uses 27 watts when on standby, while DVD, CD and VCD players use up to 12 watts, mosquito repellents 10 watts, stabilisers 25 watts, water filters 35 watts and even the "zero watt bulb" uses 12 watts of power.

The study notes that changing lifestyle has led to increase in requirement of electricity and the city's elite and its bourgeoning middle class have raised the per capita consumption of power in Delhi. Noting that invertors and UPSs themselves number around a million in Delhi, it notes that they are the major cause of "stand by" electricity consumption. But while neither of them can be switched off, power can be saved by switching off mobile chargers, televisions and audio systems when they are not in use.

Since Delhi's power requirement is expected to be around 3,900 MW this summer, a distribution company source urged power consumers to adopt the habit of "switching off" so that the demand-supply gap and power cuts are minimised and the gadgets can actually be used when needed.

The problem of Delhi is not unique. It is just that countries like US have woken up to the problem in time and started taking necessary corrective actions. On January 1, 2006, the California Energy Commission introduced mandatory standby requirements for various electronic devices -- the first such obligatory regulation in the world -- and regulators around the world have started introducing rules designed to encourage manufacturers to make their products less power hungry. In 1999, International Energy Agency based in Paris had adopted the "one watt" standard as a target for standby consumption.

As such, the distribution companies here want such regulations to be introduced. But till the time that happens, they want the consumers to become more aware about the consumption patterns of their gadgets so that their power bills get reduced.

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