Standby Energy Consumption - Australian Local Government Buildings

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Summary

This study was commissioned by the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), with the objective of quantifying the standby energy consumed by common electronic equipment in Australian local government offices. ICLEI manage the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program, which encourages local government organisations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. A number of participating CCP Councils agreed to assist in meeting the objectives of the study.

Standby energy is consumed by electronic equipment when in 'standby' mode, that is when the equipment is either switched off or not performing its primary function. In recent years, the proliferation of electronic equipment has led to a significant increase in the quantity of standby energy consumed. In response, the Australian Government launched the national Standby Power Strategy in 2002 entitled "Money Isn't All You're Saving" (NAEEEC 2002). This strategy is designed to reduce the impact of standby energy consumption over the period 2002 to 2012.

As part of the Standby Power Strategy, key equipment categories are identified for action, and specific performance targets are published for each category. These are contained in individual 'Product Profiles', a number of which have been published to date and are available from this website under standby power product profiles.

In line with the requirements of the Standby Strategy, the National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee (NAEEEC) has undertaken several in-home and in-store product measurement surveys since 1999 which focus primarily on equipment used in the residential sector. This study complements these previous surveys by collecting standby power data for commercial office equipment.

Fifteen Councils were selected for the study based on their geographic location and willingness to participate in the project. Five Councils from each of Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland were chosen, including three metropolitan, one quasi-metropolitan and one rural Council from each state.

This page last modified 02 February 2009