[MD]

US statistics show approximately 100 million computer in use during 2001.

The same data table shows only 6-7% of these are left on 24 hours a day.
Even in hyper efficient energy save mode, that is about 100 million watts.

Yes, that's right, 100 Megawatts, and I think I am being generous on the efficientcy of power save systems.

I am not sure I believe the 6-7% figure. "Conventional wisdom" once delarered increased life and stability by leaving the machines run continually. Many people never abandoned the habit(I am one of them).

Turn 'em off!

I am curious abolut street lighting also. The only data that came up on a quick Google was that ONE county in GB supports 140,000 street lights.

that is a 70 Megawatt load for ONE county in ONE nation!

[DomusAlbion]

The lights are going to go off soon enough.

Let's party till we drop.

[oowolf]

An inexpensive way to keep the lights on a little longer:

Link

{cleaned up link-jato}

[DomusAlbion]

8 watts of light. Good enough for a mole, I guess.

[MarkR]

[q]US statistics show approximately 100 million computer in use during 2001.

The same data table shows only 6-7% of these are left on 24 hours a day.
Even in hyper efficient energy save mode, that is about 100 million watts. [/q]

It's worth noting that 'standby' power is a huge problem. Think how many devices you have in your home / workplace that are on 'standby' - battery chargers, VCRs, cordless phones, Cable boxes, PCs, TVs, Microwave ovens, every one of those 'pregnant plugs' for mobile phones, and other gadgets. These all take a little bit of power, whether they are in use or not, or visibly 'switched on' or not.

In Europe, it's estimated that around 10-15% of domestic electricity consumption is attributable to 'standby' consumption. It's slightly less in the US, due to the generally much higher electricity consumption per household.

Thankfully, there is now legislative pressure on manufacturers to improve energy efficiency. E.g. the charger for my previous cell phone would take 4 W of power when plugged in, rising to 8 W when delivering 2 W to my phone during charging. On my new phone, the charger takes < 0.5W when idle (below the limit of my measurment equipment) and 3W when delivering approx 2 W to the phone.

Street lights are a major power consumer, but they do provide a very useful purpose and are directly responsible for improvements in road safety and reduction in crime in urban areas. However, because of the cost of powering them, there are initiatives to improve energy consumption.

New lights can bring substantial benefits. Advanced reflectors direct more light at the road, and less into the sky (in the form of light pollution). Electronic controllers use less power and are more reliable, while providing improved controllability. In some areas, the lights have programmable brightness - so very late at night (after midnight or 1AM, it is possible to dim the lights to half power).

[Kez]

Big things like computers, T.V.s, and VCRs that are off but still plugged in waste energy also. It's pretty small for each one, but multiply that small amount by 500 million or so and it adds up to a significant amount. I don't have the exact figures, but from memory it was 2 average power plants energy output per day wasted.

[DriveElectric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kez', 'B')ig things like computers, T.V.s, and VCRs that are off but still plugged in waste energy also. It's pretty small for each one, but multiply that small amount by 500 million or so and it adds up to a significant amount. I don't have the exact figures, but from memory it was 2 average power plants energy output per day wasted.

[ubercynicmeister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MD', 'U')S statistics show approximately 100 million computer in use during 2001.

The same data table shows only 6-7% of these are left on 24 hours a day.
Even in hyper efficient energy save mode, that is about 100 million watts.

Yes, that's right, 100 Megawatts, and I think I am being generous on the efficientcy of power save systems.

I am not sure I believe the 6-7% figure. "Conventional wisdom" once delarered increased life and stability by leaving the machines run continually. Many people never abandoned the habit(I am one of them).

Turn 'em off!

I am curious abolut street lighting also. The only data that came up on a quick Google was that ONE county in GB supports 140,000 street lights.

that is a 70 Megawatt load for ONE county in ONE nation!

[Licho]

Just buy smaller car or better insulation for your house and you will save many times more energy than by disabling public lights or unplugging all devices..
Don't forget that your cars have power consumption of up to 75 000W (for european small diesel engine - efficiency 50%, power 50hp) or up to 500 000W if you have a SUV (efficiency 35%, power 230hp)..
So think twice .. 1 hour of driving consumes energy equal to 5000 hours (= 7 months!) of old light bulb or inefficient computer on standby, or about 500 000 hours (=57 years!!) of standby of modern efficient devices (many have standby consumption < 1W).

Drive less, buy smaller car and you will save MUCH more energy..

[ubercynicmeister]

Hi Licho

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Licho', 'J')ust buy smaller car or better insulation for your house and you will save many times more energy than by disabling public lights or unplugging all devices..
Don't forget that your cars have power consumption of up to 75 000W (for european small diesel engine - efficiency 50%, power 50hp) or up to 500 000W if you have a SUV (efficiency 35%, power 230hp)..

[Licho]

Yes, you are correct, I made some googling for efficiencies of engines themselves and these were top theoretical numbers I found. Other mechanical stuff in cars probably decreases it to your figure. (But I was calculating power consumption from engine power output, so I could ignore rest of the car).