You may not know that your appliances—cell phone chargers, desktop computers, computer monitors, printers, televisions, DVD players, microwaves, coffee makers, and more—drain energy anytime they’re plugged into a socket, regardless of whether they’re turned on or off. And many electronics, like your plasma TV, don’t actually go all the way off—they continue using “standby power.” The average American home has 40 electronics drawing power in off or standby mode, totaling almost 10% of residential electricity use.
The amount of standby power wasted varies among electronic equipment, but overall, the cost to consumers and businesses for all the electricity lost to these energy vampires in the U.S. is estimated to be $4 billion annually. According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, reducing standby power consumption in TVs by 25% would save over 10 billion kWh of energy per year. Annually, this would cut energy bills by nearly $1 billion, and prevent about 7 million tons of CO2 emissions.
Slay the Energy Vampires in Your Home
- Get in the habit of unplugging all sleeping or not-in-use appliances. (Lamps are exempt.)
- Use a switchable power strip for clusters of computer or electronic products. That way you can switch everything to zero with one action. (The Smart Strip and Bye-Bye Standby kits are made for this.) Many energy-saving power strips double as surge protectors, so they’ll protect electronics against lightning strikes and power surges.
- When shopping, search for low standby products. (Asking a salesperson will probably be a waste of time.) Look for the ENERGY STAR label; these products have lower standby.
- Buy a low-cost watt-meter, measure the devices in your home, and take targeted action. You will certainly be surprised at what you discover and this exercise might even pay back the cost of the meter in savings. (The Kill-a-Watt is a great tool for this.)
On a house by house level, a computer screensaver alone costs about $60 a year of electricity to maintain, and a plasma TV sucks up $160 worth of energy annually when in standby mode. That’s a lot of money to pay for an appliance you’re not even using, so unplug those vampires today!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
We invested in a new “smart green” power strip this week. If it senses no activity for 30 minutes on a device plugged into it, it cuts power to the device entirely. No more vampire power being drained for my “instant on” TV! YAY!
{ 1 trackback }