Retailers want a scrappage scheme for household appliances. Do you think the government might also give me a subsidy to replace my hair dryer. It uses lots of electricity...
From the Daily Mail.
Retailers are calling for the car scrappage scheme to be extended to washing machines, fridges and freezers. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) wants families to be given cash incentives to ditch energy-hungry old appliances for greener alternatives.
It said this could be done by removing VAT from energy-efficient machines, delivering a saving of 15 per cent. There are 15million fridges, freezers and washing machines more than ten years old in the country. If they were replaced, carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by up to 1.3million tons a year by 2020.
New fridge freezers use less than half the energy of 1995 models, while today's washing machines operate effectively at lower temperatures. Modern dishwashers and washing machines also use less water.
Mmm. In the last recession furniture manufacturers were helped out by the demand that all upholstered furniture in rented accommodation have the new fire retardant etc. labels (not that they be fire retardant treated, but that they have the new labels...).
ReplyDeleteThat was just a fillip for a desperate industry. I wonder what other schemes will emerge with this one?
B. in C.
Would this include worn-out vibrators? Me old rabbit ears bit the dust after I reached six months of unemployment.
ReplyDeleteSurely by 2020 most of presently 10 year old machines will have passed their 21st birthday, or more than likely have been scrapped of natural causes. Sounds like special pleading. Leave them to die naturally.
ReplyDeleteHow many tons of CO2 will be saved by not printing scare stories about global warming?
How about retailers just doing the obvious thing.... realising they're overpricing their products and just lower the prices till people start buying!
ReplyDeleteWhy should taxpayers provide an incentive to prop up retail profits, the retailers have always forced down staff costs so now its time to reduce the profit margins.
Blatant advert even by the Daily Fail standards.
ReplyDeleteIt works out to roughly 0.8% CO2 reduction. If you want to save energy.
1. Insulate your home.
2. Switch off lights etc when not in use.
3. Use low energy bulbs.
4. Get a bicycle.
5. Consume less & recycle more.
Electrical usage isnt a major problem (until Electric Vehicles become mainstream). Running out of transportation fuels in ~7 years time will be a problem.
Electricity generation is fast becoming a problem because we've promised we'll shut down lots of power stations (mainly nuclear and coal fired) in the next few years, and we haven't begun building their replacements. We're going to have to go back on those promises, because conservation measures won't be enough to stop the lights going out.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, have you worked out how much energy is involved in disposing of your old appliance, and manufacturing and distributing a (probably imported) new one? Premature scrapping leads to an increase in overall energy use.
...and so that my badly ironed shirts blend in a bit better ?
ReplyDeleteHow much energy is wasted on ironing ?
ReplyDeleteIt serves no practical purpose. It comes from a time when irons were kept on a stove and the heat was being used primarily for other things. Can't we change our fashions to suit energy conservation ?