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Be Power Smart with back-to-school electronics purchases

A computer mouse on a desk.

Posted by Tony Mauro

It seems that with every back-to-school season the appetite to purchase electronics increases. Students want new computers, printers, scanners and a plethora of other devices to help achieve academic excellence (I'm sure it's not about Facebook or Twitter).

Electronics are becoming a large factor in energy consumption, and for many students, are the largest single energy consuming device under their control. It's a balancing act: functionality vs. energy consumption. And we all know that in most cases, functionality wins out in that battle, but does it have to?

How 'big' do you need to go?

Functionality, and how the device is going to be used, need to be considered before making a purchase. Let's start with a look at functionality.

Are you considering buying more then you need? If you are, it's quite likely that the extra functionality that's lying idle is wasted electricity that will cost you money.

When the choice comes down to a high-powered, do-everything desktop computer and a less powerful laptop, dig deep to think about the real use of the computer. If it's word processing, email and web browsing, then the latest i7 chip from Intel isn't going to make a noticeable difference.

Once again the truth is that more is not necessarily better. Could you live with a smaller netbook for your computing needs? Sacrificing some size and power does lead to savings on energy. Even when looking at the peripherals, consider the real need for them.

If you print something once a month, it might be better to use a printing service or a shared computer lab at a school. The same can be said for most computer peripherals: Do you really intend to use them so much that you need your own?

For more information on buying the right devices, see bchydro.com's Green Guide tip, Practice Green Computing.

Saving Energy 100: Phantom power

Armed with your new gadget, or even a reliable existing one, it's time to consider actions you can take to decrease the energy usage. It's called behavioural change, and it can be a bigger challenge than buying a more efficient product.

I'm sure by now you've heard the term "vampire power" or "phantom power", but do you know what this means? Almost every electronic device has this – it's the energy that's drawn even when the device is turned off.

Here's the technical explanation. Because the supplied energy is being converted to a form that the device can use, even when it's not in use, this conversion is still happening at a very low level. Some new electronics have measures to eliminate this, but you can't always be certain, so it's best to take some additional actions.

Use a power bar

The Number One thing you can do is turn off devices with a power bar. Plug in all the electronics to a power bar and, when you're not using them, just power down and flip the switch.

Fingers not strong enough for switch flipping? Well, power bars are available now that do this flip for you. They cost a little more, but they detect when devices aren't drawing power and shut them down.

Another power bar device that works well will detect when the computer is turned off and then power off all the plugged-in peripherals.

Remember, it's not about an all-or-nothing approach. If there are certain devices you need running all the time, then make that choice but look for the other options to reduce your consumption. Oh, and if you think that running your laptop or netbook on a battery gives you a right to a clear conscience, consider that you have to charge that battery some time.

Learn more in bchydro.com's Green Guides tip, Reduce Standby Power Use.

Tony Mauro is a Power Smart engineer whose blog entries on energy-efficiency also appear on futureshop.ca's Brand Talk blog.