"Consumer" magazine's energy articles, tests etc

[Norman Smith]

It’s that time of the year when Consumer start featuring energy reports and articles. In a comment elsewhere I talked about the value of the magazine as an accessible source of information. Some energy specialists have told me they think the reports are ‘dumbed down’. I largely disagree; they are intended for a non-technical audience, but educated and well enough resourced and organised to subscribe. They also have money to spend and will be influenced in their choices by the magazine. I also like the fact they don’t hesitate to get into topics such as unethical or inaccurate advertising or sales practises where companies with a new widgit promise to ‘reduce your energy use by up to 80%’ and all that kind of stuff. [There’s another conversation on ‘bounded rationality’ and decision making to be had, but not tonight].

In my personal library is around 100 reports/tests etc from Consumer, some up to 20 pages, gathered over the years. A number are repeats of the same test which they carry out regularly with new brands and product lines, e.g. heat pumps.

My question is – yes I’m getting to it – what do other people think of Consumer’s reports and do they use it or refer people to them? Let’s be honest they will be reaching orders of magnitude more people than we will, combined, and are the most important information source about home energy efficiency. (happy to be challenged on that statement) And of course, as you know, they host PowerSwitch.
Below, FYI, are the items in the latest issue, released online tonight. Cheers, Norman‘ Cs new at consumer.org.nz

What’s New at Consumer?
Winter heating is now top of mind for many, but keeping warm can cost a lot. We’ve found the cheapest fuels for space heating, ways to save on your hot water bill, and investigated hydronic (water-based) heating – popular overseas but not so well known here.

Water-heating optionsIf you want to lower your power bill, hot-water use is a good place to start. We’ve found some easy ways to reduce your use, plus we explain the types of systems available and their advantages and drawbacks.

Energy savings Keeping warm costs: our survey compares the running costs of 13 space heating options.

Hydronic heating Water-based heating is a well proven and effective method of warming the whole of your house.

 

• This topic was modified 11 years ago by Sally Blackwell. Reason: removing spaces

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[Vicki Cowan]

I use Consumer reports all the time – both as an individual consumer, but more often for presentations.  Since I do these a lot I find the Consumer info really useful for both training and putting our research in context.  I have a bit of a library of their space heating costs graphics – it’s interesting to compare the one they did in 2010 with the latest.  ditto the hot water heating costs.  I subscribe to their online service – and they have good guides on that for things like choosing the right heater, which I think are really useful.  Sometimes I professionally disagree with some of their recommendations, but I know that’s a two way street!

 

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[Norman Smith]

Hi Lois,

We seem to be in alignment on this, and like you I don’t always agree with their conclusions.

It will be interesting to see if and how other Hubbites use Consumer. I suspect you and I may have more in common – a strong information/education/market transformation component of our work and interests –  than most others. This feeds into my reflections about the use of the Hub over this trial period.

Cheers, Norman

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[Fred Braxton]

As a former EDA I used Consumer a lot and would agree with you both.  Consumer has also accepted input from at least one EDA.

Some of the reports from my point of view could have been a bit more accurate or complete but we have to remember the market they’re reaching. I can’t remember any with serious errors. The online version has valuable comments from users and staff.

I always refer to Consumer before making any major purchases for my household and consider the subscription cost more than repays itself.

 

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