(1) Most refrigerators, ranges, and small kitchen appliances (toasters, rice cookers and a blender were included in our sample) do not have standby losses. A few high-end devices, however, incorporate electronic controls. Because electronic controls are often an indicator of standby losses, we focused our metering effort on that segment of the market. The average standby losses for these products should not be taken as representative of the entire product category. This caveat does not apply to microwaves, since almost all modern microwaves have electronic controls and clock displays, and therefore have standby losses.

(2) Computers metered included ATX PCs, Power PCs and Macintoshes. These devices were chosen because they have standby losses and do not represent the entire market. However, because the computer industry is moving toward "instant on" and technology, we expect more to have standby losses in the future.

(3) Handheld re-chargeables metered include a hair trimmer, two shavers, three toothbrushes and a massager.

(4) Re-chargeable power tools metered included cordless drills and screwdrivers, as well as battery chargers for inter-changeable power packs for cordless tools.

(5) Some devices such as TVs were impossible to measure due to the randomness of the reading. In order to stabilize the reading, it was necessary to set all TVs to a channel displaying Asnow@ or no signal, so that comparative readings could be taken.