School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications

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Residential standby power consumption in Australia

Wear, Andrew ; Harrington, Phil ; Harrington, Lloyd ( 2001)

In 2000, Australian Governments commissioned a wide-ranging survey of the residential sector with the objective of developing a comprehensive understanding of residential standby energy consumption. This involved intrusive surveys of 64 houses in 3 large Australian cities, telephone interviews of 801 people Australia-wide, measurements of 533 appliances in major retail stores and analysis of historical metering data. The results revealed that the average standby and miscellaneous power consumption is 86.8 Watts or 760 kWh per household per annum. It is estimated that standby costs each Australian household A$95 (or 52 Euro). These figures exclude water heaters and refrigeration appliances. Overall, standby and miscellaneous accounted for 11.6% of residential electricity use in 2000, equating to 5.3 Mt CO_2e. It is estimated that this figure is increasing at 8% per annum. The response to standby power consumption by Australian governments is centred on a commitment to a one-watt target. This poster will outline the means by which Australia arrived at such a target and assess its relevance to other countries. The paper will also outline programs supporting the one-watt target. These include Energy Star for Office Equipment and Home Electronics as well as a commitment to incorporate standby power consumption into the existing Energy Rating scheme for whitegoods.