Energy-efficient electronics on way
Phased in by 2008. New California rules affect televisions, DVD players and cell-phone chargers
DON THOMPSON
AP
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
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California regulators are forcing manufacturers of household electronics such as TVs, DVD players and cell-phone chargers to make their products more energy efficient under new rules that could spark a trend toward wattage-thrifty small appliances.
In a 5-0 vote a week ago, the California Energy Commission approved standards to be phased in starting in 2006 that will require all televisions, videocassette recorders and DVD players sold in the state to run on a stingy one to three watts.
Even when idle, most models of such home entertainment devices currently use two to 10 watts.
Power adapters - those little black boxes you push into the socket to power phones, razors, computer components and the like - will be required to draw a half-watt or less.
Left plugged in, many adapters become warm to the touch, a sign they're wasting juice.
The average California household has 10 to 20 of the appliances - nicknamed "energy vampires" - which, according to estimates, cost consumers up to $75 a year in wasted electricity.
The requirements will save commercial and residential users more than $3 billion over 15 years, the commission calculated.
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