Consumers are all too often in the dark about how much it costs to run their electrical gadgets – so how can we save energy and cut emissions without knowing what our households actually consume?
As smart metering rolls out, knowing the energy use of products in the home will become more and more apparent – and subject to greater control.
Enter Sust-it.net – “simply efficient shopping” – launched by Ross and Issi Lammas who found that when it came to choosing the most energy efficient appliances, information is not only hard to find but also highly confusing. Is it more cost-effective to hold on to an old appliance or invest in a new more energy efficient one, for example?
So they set up Sust-it.net, a website that ranks tens of thousands of products by their running costs and CO2 emissions. From motoring and washing machines to workplace technology, the site converts watts and kilowatts into easy-to-understand pounds and pence.
Whether searching for a new appliance, for tips on energy efficiency, switching to LED lighting, or requiring running cost data, Sust-it’s resource provides straightforward tools for consumers, energy advisers, academics and businesses.
The site evolved from the couple’s desire to reduce energy usage, costs and ultimately carbon emissions. Their message is more about making the complexities of energy use more understandable and helping people save money and energy.
Developing sust-it.net provided the opportunity to save carbon on a far greater scale than a small business could achieve on its own.
Since its inception in 2007, its format has attracted over 2.2 million visitors, 6.4 million page views and 18,000 product views. Traffic growth has accelerated by 66% in the past year, with visitor numbers now reaching 110,000 a month.
