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Plugging electronics into a power bar is a great place to start when looking for ways to cut your home energy consumption.
December 30, 2010
Energy detective: tracking wasted electricity
Posted by Tony Mauro
Where does all my energy go?
No, we aren't talking about not sleeping and just feeling drained. It's about looking at your BC Hydro bill and wondering which devices are sucking the kWhs.
Maybe it's time to put on your detective hat and go hunting. Let's try to find which appliances and electronics are really consuming energy.
The bedroom
This can be a simple or complex room, depending on whether you enjoy kicking back and relaxing with a book or watching TV before bed. In general, if there's a glow it's consuming energy.
First, think about the light bulbs in your room and whether you're in there with the lights on for long periods of time. If you are, it might be a good time to think about putting in CFLs.
Now, how about the electronics in the bedroom? Alarm clocks. TV? The same rules apply to the TV here as the one in the living room. Plug the TV into a power bar, and if you have a digital cable box (STB), let it continue to run to keep the guide and programming up to date.
It doesn't make sense to unplug your alarm clocks, but it might be a good idea to look for a model that is very basic (no iPod charging) and has the ability to power off the display or to go into a lower lighting state.
For more info, see bchydro'com's tips on reducing standby power use and switching to energy-efficient lighting.
The bathroom
This room is actually pretty simple – I would hope there isn't a plethora of electronics within reach of water.
In general, if there is charging of an appliance going on, it's using power. This includes your electric toothbrush and shavers. If you happen to leave a hair dryer plugged in you are probably OK. A hair dryer is generally an on-or-off device, so when it's off, there's no draw of power.
That's easy. But what about showers and baths? I know that isn't electronics or appliances, but it has to be mentioned. Baths use a lot of energy with reheating the water that was drawn out of the hot water tank; long showers with high flow shower heads do the same. Best bet: try to take shorter showers and leave the baths to the occasional relaxation day.
Learn more with bchydro.com's tip on saving water in the bathroom.
The kitchen
Lots of time is spent talking about appliances and the efficiency programs of ENERGY STAR. But this doesn't cover all the electronic appliances in the kitchen. Not everything that is plugged in draws power when it's off.
A great rule of thumb is that if it blinks, beeps, or tells time when it's not being used , it's using power. What does this mean? Well, your toaster likely has no clock attached to it so it's on when it's on and really off when it's not toasting. Your blender with a clock (or just flashing 12:00) is drawing power at all times.
I always think, how many clocks does one person need at home? It sure is more work changing them all when Daylight Savings Time starts or ends.
In another blog post I will dive deeper into different appliances and the efficiencies of them, but for now it's worth thinking about smaller appliances and whether they are consuming all the time or just when in use.
See tips on appliance efficiency and how to save water in the kitchen.
The living room
The last few blog posts have been pretty specific to items that consume the most power in the home. It's worth reading Glow below the TV, Watching your music, and It's not just about TV anymore for some details on reducing your energy use in the entertainment world.
Those other rooms...
There are certainly more rooms in your home then I've shown, but the same logic and detective work can be apply to each room.
In general, if there is a great big brick-like power supply or a "wall wart" connected to your electronics it will consume energy when off. Products without the "brick" and "wall wart" can be hit or miss, but as I have talked about in prior blogs, plugging things into a power bar and flipping the switch is a great way to ensure things are off.
Tony Mauro is a Power Smart engineer and regular contributor to Unplug This Blog! and futureshop.ca's Tech Brand Talk blog.
