Shoppers who want to choose energy-efficient electronic household products such as TV sets, DVD players, laptops and set-top boxes are being ‘left in the dark’- according to new research by the UK National Consumer Council.

NCC’s new report Information Blackout: why electronics consumers are in the dark, reveals how there is little information available to shoppers in stores. Telephone help-lines and websites also do little to help customers make greener choices when purchasing everyday consumer electronic items.

Approximately 16 per cent of electricity used in the home is used by consumer electronics appliances, and it is predicted that this could almost double by 2010. Some consumer electronics products are more energy-efficient than they were; for example, over 100 models of integrated digital televisions (iDTV) now meet the Energy Saving Trust’s ‘energy saving recommended’ standard. This means they consume 250 watts or less in ‘on’ mode, and 1.5 watts or less on standby.

However, the number of products people own is increasing all the time, and the demand for (less energy-efficient) large, plasma-screen televisions has further cancelled out any energy savings through making other products more efficient.

One in seven UK consumers believes that turning appliances off uses more electricity than leaving them on standby. In reality, appliances can use up to 90 per cent of their power on standby. According to the Energy Saving Trust, approximately £740m worth of energy is wasted every year due to electrical equipment being left on standby, or charging unnecessarily, in UK homes.

Leading supermarkets, department stores and specialist electronics stores did not pass the green information consumer challenge. Retailers failed to answer questions on which products use less energy. There was a lack of information on products and on shelves, whilst websites were no better at explaining things. Out of 350 items researched, only one item – a television – had an energy label sticker on it.

NCC is calling on business and government to bring in a simple colour-coded A-G labelling scheme – based on the one currently used on washing machines and fridges – for all electronic products including TVs, mobile phones, games consoles, MP3 players and stereos.

However, labelling alone is only part of the solution. NCC also wants:

• Retailers to provide more information through their help-lines, on the internet and better in-store advice to shoppers

• Manufacturers to bring in new, more energy-efficient products into their stores more quickly

• Government to ensure that energy-efficient products are more affordable to everyone to encourage higher take-up of greener consumer electronics – with a lower rate of VAT on greener products, for example.

Story filed 19.03.07