UnplugIt is a simple scheme that will allow electronic goods manufacturers to help customers reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions, cutting their contribution to climate change.

Certain kinds of power supplies such as mobile phone chargers use electricity whenever they are plugged in, even when the product they power is not actually connected. Research indicates that if just 10% of the world’s mobile phone owners unplugged their chargers when not in use, the energy saved would be sufficient to power 60,000 European homes. Despite widespread promotion of the need to ‘unplug it’, confusion is still widespread among consumers about the type of products that are affected, and the overall contribution that such a small step could make.

The key to the UnplugIt scheme lies in its simplicity. We suggest that by placing a clear symbol onto the back of plugs for appliances which consume power whenever they are plugged in (such as phone chargers), consumers will be effectively notified of the need to 'unplug it'. The symbol can appear on a printed label, or incorporated into the plastic moulding of the plug itself.

The current proposal for the UnplugIt symbol is as follows:


It incorporates imagery of a plug ‘unplugged’, a circle to suggest the interconnectivity of the issues involved, the negative form of the capital letter ‘E’ (often associated with environmental issues – Eco, Environment, Energy, Efficiency, Electricity – and applicable in many languages), and incorporates the simple message ‘Unplug when not in use’ (which can be altered appropriately for use in languages other than English). It also resembles the standby symbol, another hot issue in energy saving.

The scheme has a number of key benefits.

  • No requirement for complicated performance assessment, administration or independent evaluation – either a product draws energy when plugged in (and therefore requires the label), or it doesn’t. (In this respect it is like the widely recognised recycling symbol.)
  • Although the further aim of the UnplugIt campaign is to influence design and awareness towards greater efficiency, addition of the label itself requires no investment in product development.
  • Implementation costs are low, involving only the production and application of the labels (which may be avoided if labels are already used on the plug to bear other symbols) or the price of adding the symbol to moulds for the plug casing.
  • Participation in the scheme is voluntary and provides a significant opportunity for manufacturers to reduce the effective lifetime carbon footprint of their products. Adoption of the scheme demonstrates manufacturers' commitment to the causes of energy saving and emissions reduction.
  • The UnplugIt symbol is clear and unambiguous.
Manufacturers are working towards the introduction of technology which reduces or eliminates the ‘phantom’ power drain caused by power supplies, and this should be the primary goal. Steps are also being taken to remind people to unplug at the point of use – for example, Nokia has introduced audible alerts to indicate to users when their phone is charged and the charger should be unplugged. These are all signs of progress, but more needs to be done – and quickly.

For more info or to discuss the scheme, please contact me, Mike Fell, on mike.unplugit [at] gmail.com.

 

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