Green consumer electronics
Making a green choice L
The consumer electronics industry has made great progress towards becoming green. Yet energy consumption of CE products is still at the bottom of consumer priorities at the point of purchase. Who should tackle this challenge? asks Anna Ryland.
eading consumer electronics
manufacturers made great strides towards making consumer electronics greener, designing and bringing to the market products which are not only increasingly benign to the environment but also less costly to run.
“Some of the biggest and most quantifiable changes have occurred in the TV market. The growing number of available channels and the success of Smart TV, suggesting that TVs will be on for longer, alongside multiple ownership and the increase in screen sizes, show that the need for greener, more economical TVs will continue to grow,” argues Peter Hunt, GfK account manager for Consumer Electronics. “The growth in sales of LED TVs shows
a great step forward for energy efficiency. The volume share of LED TVs in quarter four of 2011 was more than double of that recorded in quarter one, at 38.2% of all TVs sold. This has been aided by a drop in average price of a LED TV by almost £300 over the period of October – December 2010 to October – December 2011 from £693 to £399.”
From the manufacturing perspective
The leading CE brands are very proud of their green credentials. Panasonic’s commitment to the environment dates back to 1930s when the company’s founder Konosuke Matsushita said: "The mission of a corporation is to contribute to society, existing harmoniously with each community and the environment." At its annual conference in Hamburg in February 2012, the manufacturer announced its intention to become the world’s number one green innovation company by 2018. Panasonic has recently developed Neo PDP technology that greatly increased luminance efficiency through improvements in the cell design, discharge gas, and fluorescent body of the TV panels. As a result the company has reduced the annual power consumption of its 2012 Plasma TVs by 40% compared to the 2010 models. In 2011, 100% of Panasonic TV models (44 models) met ENERGY STAR requirement for both on-mode and standby power requirements, while 36 models exceeded the standby power
26 The Independent Electrical Retailer March 2012
requirement by 80% and the remaining 8 models exceed by 70%. Over 50 of Panasonic 2012 TV models will be A+ energy rated thanks to the energy efficient IPS LED technology. Panasonic’s new Blu-ray players feature an eco-sensor that activates a quick start mode only when someone is in the room, making approximately 50% energy savings. “Samsung TVs have energy saving (eco) modes, with four different levels (low, medium, high, and picture off). Samsung TVs also have an Eco Solution mode which includes an Eco Sensor (that automatically optimises TV screen
Roberts ecologic 7 DAB radio
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32