Gizmodo: consumption

Australia to Ban All Plasmas

blongo3 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:00:08 EDT

And it looks like it just might happen, which would spell bad news for the gadget gurus down under. ABC Australia claims that If a revised Australian energy rating guide gets passed, then all current plasma televisions would be banned from sale by 2011. That's right, all plasmas and even many power-hungry LCDs would be taken off store shelves due to their high energy consumption. But listen to this, it gets worse.

Tim O'Keefe, Australia's Digital Suppliers Industry Forum coordinator, believes that due to the country's/continent's small purchasing power, the energy requirements imposed will not be met by TV manufacturers. Well, here's to hoping that the manufacturers hear the energy-conscious cry of Australia, and produce some more energy-efficient TVs.[ABC via The Raw Feed]

We Want This: Free Energy Monitors and Smart Meters

Jason Chen — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:45:22 EDT

Starting in 2008, every home in the UK will be able to request a free real-time energy monitor from their power company in order to keep track of how much power each appliance is using. However, real-time energy monitors aren't even the best way to keep track of energy consumption—smart meters are.

These smart meters one-up energy monitors because they can be remotely read by the power company, can be calibrated to record information for billing, and even be monitored over the Internet to see what devices you've left on standby. Plus, they're presented in meaningful graphs like the one above so you can figure out what's what.

Do we have your attention, US energy companies? We want these. We don't care if they're energy monitors or smart meters, but we want these by 2008. – Jason Chen

Homes to get free energy monitors [BBC via Treehugger]

Gaming Console Power Consumption Revisited

Jason Chen — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:45:37 EST

We looked at PS1, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Gamecube and Dreamcast power consumption last year, but now with the Wii and PS3 out, it's time to see who uses the most power.

Xbox 360 was the big loser last year, costing over twice as much to run as the nearest competitor, the original Xbox. As you can see, the Wii wins, but the difference between the other three are pretty much negligible. So yes, the Wii costs the least, burns calories, and saves you money over time. Like the complete opposite of our wives. – Jason Chen

Power consumption in today's consoles [Hardcoreware via Kotaku]