Pull That Plug! 10 Common Culprits of Phantom Energy Leaks
Phantom energy sucks. Even when turned off, plugged-in electric devices are draining the juice in your house, a phenomenon that can add up to more than 65 billion kilowatt-hours of power each year. Save energy, and you save major cash.
The Union of Concerned Scientists calls the culprits of this waste vampires which silently suck away more than $5.8 billion annually of extra energy, which sends more than 87 billion pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Although few of us are in the dark about this waste, we do little or nothing to limit the stand-by mode of our glowing devices, mostly because we are too tired, or too busy, too lazy. Also, some cable boxes lose all their data when unplugged and microwave ovens are installed in 50s fashion – inserted in a wall shelf with no access to the cord.
Unplugging when possible is the easiest weapon to combat these vampires and the little things make a big difference. A huge time saver also is to plug your electronics into a power strip or surge suppressor that can be shut off with a single switch.
First, you should identify the nocturnal monsters. They’re not as hot as the Cullins family but are powerful nonetheless. Here are the top 10:
1. Adapters with rechargeable battery-powered cordless phones
We have these in several rooms and I’m sure you do, too. You don’t want the phones to go dead, but you also need to curb that extra $100 to $200 you are spending each year on those phantoms.
How many times do you leave the charger plugged into the outlet and hanging on the counter or your desk? Just start to notice this and pull the plug.
3. Televisions
If you’re able to get behind your TV unplug it after viewing. If not, connect it to a power strip. You’ll deserve an Emmy for effort.
4. Power Tools
Cordless drills and circular saws? Home Renovations suggests you go this route, and if you don’t, we suggest you keep your tools unplugged.
5. Microwaves
You should see the dinosaur in the teacher’s lounge at my kids’ school! Scary, and it never gets unplugged, unless I go in there and do the job. It’s so easy to unplug when these appliances are freestanding and not inserted into cabinets. Experts say the clocks use more power than the ovens themselves.
6. DVD players
These should be on the same power strip as the TV to avoid draining the grid.
It can be alarming to think these essential time tellers suck energy when standing by all day while you are away. CBS News tells us a good guide is to unplug anything with a digital clock. If you don’t mind the flashing clocks, put them on a surge protector and shut them off, and only turn them on when you’re using the appliance. The memory chips are on, even when we’re not using the appliance.
8. Computers
Is that lap top hooked up when you go to sleep? Is the docking station still active when you are getting your Zzz’s? Try powering down at night to have sweeter dreams.
We forget to unplug these, as well, wanting them fired up and ready to go when we are ready to work.
Just like our cell phones, we get in the habit of recharging and forgetting. Learning new habits is challenging the results make for a much brighter energy picture.
Image: j/f/photos, alanclarkdesign, pasukaru76, UweHermann, mattbuck4950, William Hook, kanonn, samantha celera, Let Ideas Compete, g_kat26 and Andrew*.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
|
|
|
11 Comments
December 1st, 2009 at 11:16 am
Great list. I started plugging everything possible into a power strip that can easily be switched off when I leave the house, and it works really well.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Way to grow, Kirsten!
December 1st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I still say the biggest problem is that we’re having vampires foisted upon us.
Dear Hardware Manufacturers: it’d be really nice if you all agreed to redefine Off as actually meaning Off. That way, we’ll spend less on our bills and be able to afford more of your products. Blanket win.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:20 am
nice way to save energy
We in India always fallow energy conservation practice
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Plugs do not leak electricity. Your devices do. The reason that they do is that they are on standby or they have clocks that must be kept going. Also, if you have a DC/AC converter plugged into the wall to recharge your cell-phone or what sit, that device will draw current even while it’s not charging the device.
December 4th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I wouldn’t mind unplugging my television when I wasn’t using it if I didn’t have to spend 10 minutes reprogramming it to find channels every time I plugged it back in. Also, if I don’t leave my laptop running a few times a week, all of the scans for viruses and all of the updates bog down the system so that it locks up when I actually need to use it for work.
I want to conserve, but I find a lot of these posts about how we should just unplug everything a bit too simplistic. I always feel judged. Perhaps instead of just repeating the same old same old redundant obvious rhetoric, some folks start coming up with some alternatives for those of us who live in the real world which doesn’t fit nicely into a box of easy solutions?
December 4th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Excellent point, J. The way technology is used right now, it’s sometimes just not practical – or at least less practical – to turn it off.
For example, I worked in an IT firm that told everyone to leave their computers running 24/7, even at weekends, because of patches that were automatically send out to update critical pieces of software. And as you say, when the power goes off, so does all the saved settings…
That’s a definite challenge to the people making these devices. And I don’t see it as insurmountable by any means. But as it is right now, it’s a problem and it’s slap-bang in the way of reducing wasted energy.
Which is why I’d push the question right back to the manufacturers. Why make things that require constant power? Computers remember what’s on them when we turn them off – why can’t all appliances do the same? Virus scans and software updates are getting less obtrusive by the year, but they still make our machines wheeze and groan as they update (speaking as a PC-user here, though). Is that necessary? And so on.
The technology encourages us to leave things on when we’re not there. And that’s just daft.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:44 am
And I just want to add that I’m not indicating that one shouldn’t make any effort at all just because there are a few obstacles — for example, when I leave work at night, I turn off my digital picture frame and PC monitor (though I leave my CPUs running for the reasons Mike mentioned and so I can dial in from home).
However, I’m tired of these sort of articles that imply that the solutions are simple and everyone can do them. These solutions are watered down and assume everyone fits into the same mold. All they do is make the people, who want to be perfect at whatever the list solves, feel frustrated at the fact that no one else seems to have their problem. They feel like an outsider.
Rather than offer the simple solutions, offer a venue for people what people are really searching for — answers to the more complex scenarios.
June 13th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
In response to tthe woman from India that said that in her country people are aware of conserving energy- I have this to say.
India is considered a third world country and the US a first world country. Now imagine that we, as a people inhabiting one planet are now desiring to form 5th world countries- ones that put people and planet before anything else. We are not there yet, but the third world countries are closer to that reality than the so called developed nations.
Let’s get our priorities straight- planet, people, then profit.
Who Linked To This Post?
Welcome! The comment box is all yours to say what you like. Just make sure you use a real name, not a site or company, so you don't get sent to the spam bin. (That makes us sad.)