Task A: Data Related Activities

Data collection, collation, publishing of reports, dissemination of information and holding workshops are important components of any strategy to tackle standby power. There are two main components to this:

a) The tracking of low-power rates and functionality in new products; and

b) The overall assessment of energy consumption of existing products in low-power modes taking into account equipment stock levels and performance.

It is critical to ensure that both of these areas of information are delivered to those involved in policy formation. Tracking and assessments will mostly be done at the national level and then aggregated up to regional or global assessments. The initial emphasis on new products which are currently entering the stock provides a clear picture of current standby levels and their trends at a product level, as well as the potential to reduce standby power through different policy approaches. While the installed stock is also of some interest, a much larger sample is required to quantify current trends in standby power. However, monitoring of the installed stock does provide extremely useful information on user interaction with products, which has an important effect on total energy consumption.

An important element of the data collection task will be to ensure that information on the source of the data, its quality and the method under which it is measured is also documented to allow assessments of data compatibility to be undertaken. Wherever possible, information on features and technology used in products should be recorded as data is collected to allow an assessment of power consumption and features to be undertaken. Developing standardised data on modes and functions will be an important element.

A wide range of data sources could be used within this Annex including commercial data sources, manufacturer declared data, laboratory measurements, self collected data and regulatory databases. In general, the Annex will rely on data sources which have been collected or obtained within their own countries or reginos by the Annex participants. Some technical support will be available to Annex participants where they wish to undertake their own data collection efforts. Assistance will include advice and technical support in the collection, verification, storage and analysis of data. Close international cooperation on data related issues will make a key contribution to this task.

The specific activities of this task include:

• Preparation of reports, summaries and key information sources.
• Collation and publishing of national, regional and global information, including analysis of trends concerning standby power.
• Development and maintenance of the Annex website which will be updated with new information as it comes to hand.
• The organisation and holding of regional workshops to promote the collection of data and to disseminate information on standby power.
• Presenting of papters and holding workshops on the activities of the 4E Standby Annex to further facilitate information dissemination and promote further participation in the Annex.
• Undertake training sessions for practitioners who are invovled in field measurements of standby power.

The specific deliverables which result from this task include:

• Publication and maintenance of an agreed methodology to undertake standby measurements in the field, and agreement on the core list of products to be measured.
• Development and sharing of a standardised data collection instrument, survey documentation, mode and function definitions and a database format for pooling of standby data from a range of sources.
• Provision of training workshops in countries or regions on request (within the available in-kind resources available to the Annex) to undertake measuring standby power in-store surveys.
• Collation, analysis and publication of national, regional and global data and maintain these on the Standby Annex website.

Note that the tracking of low-power rates and functionality in new products will be closely coordinated with the Asia Pacific Partnership project, which has a similar objective, and is lead by Australia with the assistance of Korea.