Phantom power
By
Diana McLaren • Bankrate.com
Home office electronics are other big users of phantom power. According to Toronto Hydro, a computer and monitor running continuously use between $75 and $120 worth of electricity in a year. So, if you shut them down even half that the time, you've saved yourself a month's worth of lattes.
The answer, say experts, is to pull the plug on phantom load. This means not simply shutting down your computer when you're away from your office. It means having it, along with your printer, plugged into a power bar and turning that bar off when not in use. That way, there's no standby power surging through the wires giving you that instant-on feeling. You'll have to wait a few seconds while things power up but you'll be saving money and electricity.
Making changes at the source
The other remedy, says Love, rests with an international movement for a one-watt solution. In this scenario, manufacturers would make products that don't draw more than one watt of electricity when in standby mode.
"One of the features of the electronic market is its high turnover," says Love. "People throw out their computers and other devices long before they're no longer working. They want the latest bling in electronics, so the benefits from a one-watt standard would be seen very quickly."
In the meantime, ETCAG members are coming up with actions they can take to reduce their energy consumption thanks to their household metering project. They are already resolving to plug electronic equipment into power bars that can be switched off. Other ideas include unplugging microwaves that are used infrequently and plugging printers into separate outlets from computers because they are used less often.
Stoyke's handbook identifies a few ways you can tell if your equipment is sucking energy, and dollars, out of you. For example, if it uses an external power adapter or feels warm even after it's been switched off awhile, it's a power vampire.
"We've become used to the instant-on standby mode, without being aware of how much this convenience is costing us," says ETCAG member Martina Rowley. "Once you do realize, you're more likely to turn it off."
Toward this end, her group loans its meters to anyone who wants to face up to the cost of convenience. You simply plug an electronic device into the meter, then plug the meter into your outlet and the power draw is displayed on a small screen. The meters are available for loan from some municipal libraries or can be purchased at most large hardware chains for about $30. It's a matter of spending a little to save a lot.
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