How German Households Use Electricity Fully a quarter of the
electricity used in the average German household now goes for
information, communication, and entertainment electronics.
That's the principal finding of a survey commissioned by several
German energy agencies. Fifteen years ago it was only 7%. "There
has been a very noticeable increase in recent years in the
number of devices, the amount of time they are in use and the
size of the screen," said Jan Witt, director of the Association
for Efficient Application of Energy, an organization of the
power industry, that co-sponsored the study. Computer use in the
household averages nearly five hours a day, the study showed.
And then there are such things as the router, printer, satellite
receiver, antenna amplifier, fax, and modem. These devices often
use power for standby even when they are idle. Of the average
3,091 kWh used annually per household, Witt reports, 760 kWh go
to these devices. The study also showed that refrigeration and
freezing equipment us