Your Electric Bill? You're Looking At It
In a report charmingly called "The Ampere Strikes Back," Britain's Energy Saving Trust has predicted that electronic gear will consume nearly half of the total electricity used by the typical household by the year 2020, surpassing the traditionally big electricity eaters in the home: kitchen appliances and lighting. The most striking number might be that in 2020, televisions on standby will consume 1.4 percent of all domestic electricity.
Despite attempts by some manufacturers to make more energy-efficient products, some digital radios still use four times as much power as analogue sets, the report says.
The growth of single person households -- many with big TVs, set-top boxes, computers, games consoles, TV and music recorders and digital radios -- will add to the higher energy consumption.
The trust said households could save 37 pounds a year on their energy bill by switching devices off at the wall.
HotHardware is not generally in the prediction business. But here's one: A television in 2020 will not use a lot of electricity, will be huge, and will not cost very much. Problem solved. We have no idea how much electricity your transporter or flying car might use then, so are reluctant to offer an estimate. We advise turning off things you are not using in any case.
