307 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
307 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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worldnews
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europe
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eu
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7996383
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-----
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# Europe to cut power of vacuum cleaners to save energy
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## The cleanliness of Britain's homes is being threatened by European
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bureaucrats who want to reduce the power of vacuum cleaners in a bid to cut
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energy use.
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![Europe to cut power of vacuum cleaners to save energy ][1]
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Experts fear that by restricting the power of domestic vacuum cleaners it
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could reduce their effectiveness sucking up dust and dirt. Photo: ALAMY
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[![Richard Gray][2]][3]
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By [Richard Gray][4], Science Correspondent 8:15AM BST 12 Sep 2010
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[Follow Richard Gray on Twitter][5]
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First it was traditional [light bulbs][6], then it was [plasma
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televisions][7]. Now European bureaucrats are targeting the nation's vacuum
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cleaners as part of plans to cut energy use in the home.
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Officials at the European Commission are proposing to restrict the power of
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domestic vacuum cleaners in a move which experts fear could reduce their
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effectiveness in sucking up dust and dirt.
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Manufacturers say it could also reduce cleaners' ability to remove fine
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particles from the air they pump back into the atmosphere, potentially leading
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to nasty side-effects for allergy and asthma sufferers.
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The EU experts propose restricting the power of vacuum cleaners to levels last
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seen in the 1960s.
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Britain's current best selling upright bagged vacuum cleaner, the Hoover Pure
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Power, has a power rating of 2.1 kilowatts (kW) - about the same as a typical
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kettle. A rival, the Vax Power 2 Pet has a power input of 2.2kW.
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## Related Articles
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* [EU light bulbs offer dim future][8]
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29 Aug 2009
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* [Vacuum cleaner sales down][9]
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07 Oct 2010
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* [EU ban on traditional lightbulbs prompts panic buying][10]
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25 Aug 2009
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* [Power hungry plasma TVs to be banned][11]
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12 Jan 2009
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* [Spotlight bulbs face EU ban][12]
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06 Sep 2009
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* [Biggest is not always best in the world of the vacuum cleaner][13]
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12 Sep 2010
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The EC, however, wants power inputs to be cut by the year 2014 to 500 Watts
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(0.5kW) for upright cleaners and 750 Watts for canister cleaners and upright
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cleaners with integral hose and tools. The cuts, it claims, would help save
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enough electricity to power 2.3 million homes.
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Alex Martin, technical director at the Association of Manufacturers of
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Domestic Appliances, said manufacturers were concerned about the move.
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"If you are affecting the amount of energy you have flowing through a product
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then of course it is a concern about how that will impact on cleaning
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performance," he said.
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"Filtration efficiency is something else that is being looked at. If you lower
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the amount of energy in a product then there are numerous other criteria that
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need to be considered such as to how able a product is able to filter dust."
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Giles Chichester MEP, Conservative energy spokesman at the European
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Parliament, said: "Banning powerful cleaners in households could have a severe
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impact on allergy and asthma sufferers.
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"This is another example of how EU legislation has good intentions but
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sometimes there are detrimental side-effects.
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"I hope that both the EU and the UK government can find a way around this so
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that we improve energy efficiency without forcing people back to their
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broomsticks."
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An EU report drawn up by a panel of experts, which has now been sent for
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consultation with member states and vacuum cleaner manufacturers, states:
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"Vacuum cleaner input power ratings have increased markedly since the 1960s.
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"However, the energy efficiency of vacuum cleaners has dropped over the years,
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in other words, more power does not necessarily equate to better cleaning."
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The European Commission's proposed regulations, which must be approved by
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member states, calls for new technology to be developed to help increase the
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appliance's efficiency.
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In one example it suggests that manufacturers could develop new types of
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nozzles that vibrate or brush the surface being cleaned to help remove dust,
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but it also warns that this could damage valuable or delicate carpets.
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The report comes just a year since the Commission began rolling out a ban on
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traditional incandescent light bulbs which was aimed at forcing consumers to
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switch to energy efficient bulbs.
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The move provoked a backlash from consumers who said the newer energy
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efficient bulbs produced less light and were more expensive than their
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traditional counterparts.
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The European Commission has also introduced strict energy efficiency targets
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for other household appliances including fridges, freezers, televisions and
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computers, which are expected to cut electricity use across the EU by 12.5 per
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cent by 2020.
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Dyson, which makes some of the most energy efficient vacuum cleaners available
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for the domestic market, produces appliances with an average energy input of
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around 1.2kW but it has just produced a 650 Watt DC24 Dyson Ball.
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The company's founder James Dyson gave the European Commission's proposals a
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cautious welcome but added that developing new technology required to improve
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efficiency can take years.
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He said: "Bigger motors don't equal better performance. In fact they symbolise
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outmoded ineffective design.
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"Breakthrough technology takes time to develop. Our engineers have spent a
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decade developing highly efficient digital motors."
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Marlene Holzner, energy spokesman for the EC, said: "Technology is a rapidly
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developing and we have seen in other areas that it is capable of reducing
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energy while keeping all the functions and performance the same, if not
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improving them."
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Paul Pearce, technical director of the national carpet cleaning association,
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said: "The performance of a vacuum cleaner has more to do with airflow than
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with the power rating, so it should be possible to reduce the power without
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affecting the cleaning perforance."
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* Share: [Share][14] [ ][16] [ ][17]
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[Tweet][18]
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power-of-vacuum-cleaners-to-save-energy.html
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Telegraph
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## [EU][19]
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* ### [News »][3]
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* ### [Earth News »][20]
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* ### [Energy »][21]
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* ### [Green Politics »][22]
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* ### [Greener Living »][23]
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In news
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[![UK border control staff go on strike][24] ][25]
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[![David Cameron address European Council on Libya action][26] ][27]
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### [David Cameron: Europe supports Libyan action][27]
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[![Germany, with the biggest European economy, expanded by 1.5pc in first
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quarter. ][28] ][29]
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### [UK growth lags behind German and French][29]
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[![A man on an overhead walkway in Paris's Marche St Honore, passes large
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illuminated balloons December 29, each representing the European currencies
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which will take part in the launch of Europe's single currency. Citigroup
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fears dramatic EMU crisis unless Europe acts fast][30] ][31]
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### [Two-way eurozone split could solve debt crisis][31]
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[X][14] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][15]
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Share:
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* [ ][14]
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* [ ][16]
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* [ ][17]
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* [Tweet][18]
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* Advertisement
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![][32]
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