Energy-saving measures are being given the boys toys treatment in an attempt to cut the levels of electricity wasted in the home. Devices designed to provide accurate information on consumption, while appealing to everyone who likes to have the latest in gadgetry, are expected to proliferate this year. Devices to reduce wastage from standby facilities have already been put on sale in recent months and researchers are now working on extending energy-saving technology to every household appliance. Intelligent plugs that allow householders to monitor the consumption of every light, screen and washer are being developed by researchers at the University of Essex. They have designed prototypes that will undergo a comprehensive test regime in the university’s iS-pace department before mass production. Each of the plugs will be fitted with a transmitter that will send signals to a central receiver where the householder can monitor use and wastage from every appliance. The monitor can detect when appliances are left on unnecessarily and beam instructions to switch them off. Householders will be able to override decisions by the monitor to switch off equipment. The gadget, which is intended to use far less electricity than other less comprehensive gizmos, was described by its design team as a green Big Brother that should take the effort out of switching off all unused appliances. Researchers are so confident in the gadget’s potential that they believe it should be fitted as standard to all domestic appliances within a few years. “Home-owners will be able to see how much power every single device uses,” said John Woods, a researcher. “You will be able to see if a fridge has failed, or if something has been left on that should not have been. It empowers people to make a real difference.” The plug is being developed with a £90,000 award from the Carbon Connections Development Fund, an initiative managed by the University of East Anglia and funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The aim is to reduce domestic energy consumption, which is responsible for a third of all the electricity used in Britain. Dr Woods and his co-designer Steve Fitz are devising software that will allow householders more rigid control over their electrical consumption. A spokeswoman for the Energy Saving Trust said that £1.8 billion of electricity was wasted by electronic equipment each year by households in the UK. She added: “The average household wastes £28 each year by leaving appliances on standby. Across the UK this is equivalent to the annual output of more than two 700MW power stations.”

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