Description
We live in a consumerist society, surrounded more and more by electronic products, and advertising encourages us to buy all the latest generation devices that are coming to market. In many cases, we buy products that we do not really need, either because we already have another object that performs the same function or because the device we bought simply replaces a job that we have done so far manually and without much effort. Examples would be the electric toothbrush, the electric razor, the electric juicer, the electric tipping machine or pencil sharpener, the paper shredder, among others.
It is very important to be aware of the energy consumption we generate with our daily actions in order to try to reduce our environmental impact.
What can I do?
Before buying a product, think about whether you really need it or find out about the energy consumption involved.- Repair a product before buying a new one.
- Try to avoid buying electrical products that simply replace a small manual effort (such as the electric pencil sharpener).
- Choose the size of the appliances according to your needs. Don’t buy a device that is larger in size or features than you need.
- When you need to buy a new electronic device, choose the most efficient model. Check the energy efficiency criteria according to the labels on the appliances, such as the Energy Label, Energy Star, TCO or European Ecolabel.
Impact on the environment
* Image: Energy Star energy label logo. For the United States Environmental Protection Agency[Public domain] , via Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEnergy_Star_logo.svg)