Post by Tumbleweed on Dec 19, 2007 3:00:04 GMT -6
I had always wondered if appliances use electricity, and how much, when they are shut off or not in use and the answer is yes they do! They even have a name for it. It is called phantom load or vampire power. I kind of figured they did and obviously so if an appliance has built-in clocks and buttons that light up. Although appliances only account for 20% of energy consumption, as much as 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics and small appliances is used while they're turned off, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In other words, making that one pot of coffee in the morning is using only 25% of the energy consumed by that coffee maker while you used it. The remaining 75% is used because you didn't unplug it. Estimates have been made that all your idle appliances costs between $40 and $100 a year!
The U.S. Department of Energy suggests you unplug small appliances and electronics when you aren't using them but no way am I going to go around the house each night and unplug things and I suspect neither are you. A better suggestion, in my opinion, is plug them into a power strip and turn the power strip off when you aren't using those items. Power strips cost $10 to $20 each and can save you up to $100 a year, depending on how many electronics you have.
Researching this topic I've read that by just unplugging one T.V., fax machine and computer monitor will save you about $6 per month. I've got so many power strips just sitting around. Time to save some $$$$'s and put those power strips to work!
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends these following guidelines: "For energy savings and convenience, consider turning off the monitor if you aren't going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes both the CPU and monitor if you're not going to use your PC for more than 2 hours.
Make sure your monitors, printers, and other accessories are on a power strip/surge protector. When this equipment is not in use for extended periods, turn off the switch on the power strip to prevent them from drawing power even when shut off.
For cost effectiveness, you also need to consider how much your time is worth. If it takes a long time to shut down the computer and then restart it later, the value of your time will probably be much greater than the value of the amount of electricity you will save by turning off the computer." But you can certainly work around this by turning on your computer first, then making your coffee, etc..
If this just doesn't appeal to you make sure you set up your computer (most have this) to Power-Down or go into Sleep Mode. This will lessen consumption up to 70%, depending on your computer. Note: Screen savers are not energy savers and may, in fact, consume more energy than not using one.
www.energy.gov/
The U.S. Department of Energy suggests you unplug small appliances and electronics when you aren't using them but no way am I going to go around the house each night and unplug things and I suspect neither are you. A better suggestion, in my opinion, is plug them into a power strip and turn the power strip off when you aren't using those items. Power strips cost $10 to $20 each and can save you up to $100 a year, depending on how many electronics you have.
Researching this topic I've read that by just unplugging one T.V., fax machine and computer monitor will save you about $6 per month. I've got so many power strips just sitting around. Time to save some $$$$'s and put those power strips to work!
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends these following guidelines: "For energy savings and convenience, consider turning off the monitor if you aren't going to use your PC for more than 20 minutes both the CPU and monitor if you're not going to use your PC for more than 2 hours.
Make sure your monitors, printers, and other accessories are on a power strip/surge protector. When this equipment is not in use for extended periods, turn off the switch on the power strip to prevent them from drawing power even when shut off.
For cost effectiveness, you also need to consider how much your time is worth. If it takes a long time to shut down the computer and then restart it later, the value of your time will probably be much greater than the value of the amount of electricity you will save by turning off the computer." But you can certainly work around this by turning on your computer first, then making your coffee, etc..
If this just doesn't appeal to you make sure you set up your computer (most have this) to Power-Down or go into Sleep Mode. This will lessen consumption up to 70%, depending on your computer. Note: Screen savers are not energy savers and may, in fact, consume more energy than not using one.
www.energy.gov/
