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How to Prevent 'Vampire' Energy Losses
Friday, June 1, 2007
10:11:00 AM EDT
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10:11:00 AM EDT
How to Prevent 'Vampire' Energy Losses
Unplug Your Gadgets or Use a Power Strip: A reader e-mailed me a question about how much power our electronic devices use when they are turned off. Yes, many consumer electronic devices continue to use energy even when they are turned off, but still plugged in. This can amount to 10 percent of the electricity used in your home. It's often called "phantom energy use" or "vampire energy use," because the devices are sucking power even when you are not using them -- including at night when you are sleeping.
How can you prevent this vampire power use and stop paying for electricity that you aren't using?
-- One solution is to plug your computer, television and other such devices into a power strip -- and turn the power strip off when you turn the devices off. (Or you can just unplug the devices.) We do this at home for our television, stereo and computer -- and find that it takes very little effort.
-- Also, the Energy Star program advises removing electronic chargers -- for cell phones and such -- from wall outlets when you are not charging something. Those chargers also use electricity even when they are not charging anything.
-- Another solution is, when you buy new products, to buy products that have the Energy Star label on them. These products will use less energy when in their "off" state.
Consumer electronic products account for up to 13-15 percent of household electricity use. Twenty-five years ago, this was only five percent of a household's electricity use. Things have changed -- we now have more gadgets that we plug in. According to preliminary research at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, 10 percent of electricity use in our homes is going to phantom energy use.
Any gadget that uses a remote is consuming power when it is off. For example, when your television is "off," it is actually partially "on," so that it turns on quickly when you press the remote.
Some other interesting things I learned:
- It's better to let your computer monitor"go to sleep," rather than use a screensaver. This will save some energy
- Some new, really big HD TVs can use two-to-three times the electricity of a regular TV. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, these huge TVs use as much as 500 kilowatt hours per year and could cost you $300-$500 in electricity costs over 10 years.
- The typical American owns 25 consumer electronics products and spends more than $1,200 a year buying them, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
Start saving power and money today -- and reduce emissions from power plants, and thus help fight global warming -- by unplugging those chargers and using power strips.
Here are some good links if you want to learn more:
Energy Saving Tips for Your Home:
Energy Star Podcasts: Consumer Electronics and Their Impacts
Video: Five Ways to Save Energy and Money
Top Tips to Stop Global Warming
Treehugger Post About Phantom Power
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This entry has 7 comments: (Add your own)
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THE ONLY ANSWER OF COURSE IS... GET RID OF THE VAMPIRES IN OUR GOVERNMENT AND THE VAMPIRES WHO RUN THE CORPORATIONS... GET RID OF THE SYSTEM OF PREDATORY CAPITALISM THAT OPPRESSES THE PEOPLE... INSTITUTE SOME FAIR PLAY AND A SOCIAL DEMOCRACY WITH SOCIALLIZED MEDICINE AND STOP STALLING... PUT AN END TO THE CLASS WARFARE... ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE... NO MORE DOG EAT DOG RATRACE... NO MORE CULT OF CORRUPTION... WHAT ARE TROOPS FOR ANYWAY ? IT CAN BE DONE...
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Thank's for the info; I also use power strips & find it easy to unplug each device; every night at bed-time. I was interested in the question about being able to sign on as a guest or another computor? Isn't that the idea,when unpluging your power strips, you can't do a thing until you plug them back on !! Knowing about my big screen tv, I can see now that I haven't been doing all I can do, I need to unplug that power, as well. Again thanks & anymore new's on this info is alway's welcome. Stephanie from Ca.
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why not close the mall on sunday? they are open every day till 9:00 or 10:00 every night that time for people to get there shopping done. if could help alot.
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Your computer does not have to be plugged in for you to access your e mail account from another location or receive e mail. The e mail is going to your mail box provider not to your home computer. You access your mail box provider's site
when you go to the mail box. hope that is easy to comprehend!
7/8/07 10:39 AM