Saturday, June 18, 2011

Defang Energy Vampires

By turning off electronics when not in use, you could save over over $100 annually on your electric bill and a half a ton of heat-trapping pollutants. If you have more energy-intensive items, such as an older Sony Playstation 3 and high-powered computers, your savings could be as high as $425 annually.

PLAN
1. Survey your electronics. Check if you have the following items and where they are plugged in—directly into a wall socket? Or in a power strip you can easily turn on and off? Each of these will drain energy when in standby mode but if plugged into a power strip can be easily switched off without unplugging.
Set-top boxes, such as DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, are particularly vampiric, draining as much when not in use as when recording or playing. In fact, they often consume more energy than your TV. See NRDC's new report for more on the hidden costs of set-top boxes.

Digital video recorder (DVR) or TiVO
Digital cable box
Xbox, Playstation and other video game consoles
Cellphone chargers
Satellite receiver
VCR/DVD player
LCD, CRT or Plasma TV
Audio amplifier
Desktop computer
LED or CRT monitor
Laptop computer
Ink-jet or laser printer

The Simple Steps Energy Vampire Calculator can determine the cost to you and the amount of CO2 emitted by most of these items.
Solution: Buy power strips where needed to plug in your electronics.

For the complete article and many energy saving smart tips, visit the NRDC at http://www.nrdc.org/living/energy/CO2-Smackdown-step-11-defang-energy-vampires.asp

1 comment:

Victor Wetherbee said...

It's totally surprising to see your electricity bill go through the roof, even though you know that you've turned the appliances to standby before you slept. But appliances on standby mode still suck up energy throughout the day. That is why it is ideal to go for power strips or just outright unplug them when not in use.