[wisconsin_cur]

As another sign of the times, the number one emailed article on the New York Times is about taming energy use in the home.


$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') THOUGHT I was pretty good about energy conservation, but it turns out that I’ve been a bit of a hypocrite. I drive a reasonably fuel-efficient car, I work at home so I don’t use fuel to commute and I am replacing incandescent bulbs in my home with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.

But I am also a prodigious computer user, and it looks as if that makes me an energy hog. I started checking how much electricity my electronics were consuming when I wasn’t using them. I used a Kill A Watt EZ energy meter (available online for about $25) and began measuring. My PC was continuously drawing 134 watts all night.

The more devices I checked, the worse it got. My TiVo digital video recorder was sucking down about 30 watts when it was not playing or recording a show. A Comcast digital cable set-top box made by Motorola that I tested was drawing about 40 watts. My DVD player was drawing 26 watts while idle, and my audio system — which I rarely turned off — was using 47 watts. This was in addition to the numerous power adapters and chargers, each drawing 1 or 2 watts, not to mention several other devices sipping energy to keep clocks running or to be ready to turn on at the push of a button.

[Twilight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')y PC was continuously drawing 134 watts all night.

[Blacksmith]

Very revealing!

[IanC]

Kinda goes back to blind consumption being at the root of the problem. The author has all of these appliances and gadgets sucking (presumably) coal-fired energy even when not in use, not to mention all the energy when they are in use. If she didn't have all of that crap, they wouldn't be sucking energy, would they? Our perception of what we need has gotten to a very destructive level for the planet.

It's like trying to make sure all the Chinese have fuel efficient cars, or that we try to "offset" our carbon with bogus trading schemes. None of it questions the rampant consumerism and commercialism which is fueling the whole problem of GW, pollution, etc. in the first place.

-IanC

[gg3]

Note that most of the waste was in the form of devices designed to reinforce laziness as the default mode (no need to turn it on & warm it up, it's always on), and most of those were of the "entertainment" variety.

At minimum, what's needed here is a power strip with a separate switch for each device. You want to watch TV, switch on the cable box, the TiVo, and the TV itself. You want to listen to music, switch on the radio/CD player, but switch off the TV-related stuff. This takes practically zero effort so there is exactly no excuse.

Better yet, some people need to get over their inability to entertain themselves without consuming energy. I'll bet they can't even have sex without a soundtrack...

BTW, that Comcast box is also always-on, consuming 40 watts 24/7, when you get your phone service as part of the Comcast "bundle." Whereas a hardwired phone consumes at most about 3 watts (provided by the telco's central office power supply) while you're actually having a conversation, and zero the rest of the time. I get so sick of the damn "trendies" promoting wireless & mobile telephony and cable-TV telephony and internet-based telephony as "the waves of the future." Speaking here as a telephone systems engineer, copper cable and circuit-switching beats all this BS by a mile in terms of energy efficiency and also robustness and reliability.

[strider3700]

I've done this testing before and there is a thread somewhere in the conservation and efficiency thread. Simply by turning off my pc when I was asleep or at work I saved $6 a month

[azreal60]

I just instituted rules with my wife and roomate on this tonight. I had wanted too in the past, but it was one more idea put to the wayside because of bad memory.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Twilight', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')y PC was continuously drawing 134 watts all night.

[TommyJefferson]

All those devices suck energy because energy is cheap.

When energy becomes expensive, people will demand more energy efficient farkles.

Like gg3 says, switchable power supplies are a quick easy solution for anyone who cares.

[I_Like_Plants]

I just got my PG&E bill, $11.10

I must admit though, in Hawaii this same approx. usage would be $40. I think ..... I did have a large CRT TV I was running a fair amount of time though.

[nella]

wisconsin, I think it's great the guy it figured how much ghost energy he was using.
I've never used a kill-a-watt to measure things in my home. And in fact I didn't know until recently that certain electronics keep drawing energy even when turned off, because they are actually in standby mode. But I know now and I do see a savings on my electric bill.

[MC2]

The real "hogs" are not entertainment or computer-oriented devices, though. When I saw this thread, I assumed it would be (rightfully) about the design of typical suburban homes that use thousands of KWH of electricity for the core tasks of making them habitable. Builders and designers are not interested in using the best insulation techniques (costs more money so the homes are harder to sell and profits go down, too) or most efficient HVAC and water heating systems. The big "hogs" in modern homes are these, not peripherals people plug in their wall outlets. It's always funny to me to see someone brag about their "Energy Star" compliant computer (which can be set to shut down after certain idle periods, saving, at best, 1 KWH per day), while running their 12 SEER (or less) heat pumps and AC systems, using 50-100 KWH or more per day, all within a home that takes no advantage of proper siting to reduce the heating/cooling load.
Their teenage daughter may dutifully click off the TV she was watching (75 watts draw), only to run a deep bath (40 gallons of hot water drawing several kilowatt/hours to restore), etc. Mom will cook a roast in the oven for several hours. drawing 10KWH, while the central AC works to remove the extra heat being put into the house at significant expense. People, for the most part, just don't understand that saving a few hundred watts here and there is a drop in the bucket next to their more wasteful energy lifestyles.
Oh well, the suburban lifestyle's days are numbered, or so I hear.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gg3', '
')
At minimum, what's needed here is a power strip with a separate switch for each device. You want to watch TV, switch on the cable box, the TiVo, and the TV itself. You want to listen to music, switch on the radio/CD player, but switch off the TV-related stuff. This takes practically zero effort so there is exactly no excuse.

[MC2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jdmartin', '[')
This can work well for some stuff but not others - my tv & dvd player, for example, have built-in "programming menus" that automatically activate the first time you use it after a power interruption - it takes a couple of minutes to go through the menus and get everything set again. No way in hell I'm going to do that on a daily basis. My telephone answering machine only remembers the date and time for a little while before you have to go back through and reset everything. The audio system would require reprograming of all the memory buttons. In short, the couple of dollars of energy savings is not nearly worth the major hassle of reworking everything on a daily basis. And it's not like they just came up with this stuff - I've got a little cheap 13" Kmart TV from 12 years ago that requires reprogramming of all cable channels every time you pull the plug. Basically there's a built in discouragement factor. They could start putting batteries in all this stuff, like with a computer, to keep settings, but of course that's another energy usage (all the energy to create/dispose of the batteries).

[Niagara]

One of the best energy saving devices I've come across is the attic exhaust fan. In the summertime the attic can get extremely hot, especially in homes with black shingles. Temps can exceed 140F no problem. Heat then radiates down into the house, putting a huge load on the AC.

I've found that with the fan running the AC won't kick in nearly as often.

The small amount of power the fan uses is greatly offset by the AC savings.

[MC2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Niagara', 'O')ne of the best energy saving devices I've come across is the attic exhaust fan. In the summertime the attic can get extremely hot, especially in homes with black shingles. Temps can exceed 140F no problem. Heat then radiates down into the house, putting a huge load on the AC.

I've found that with the fan running the AC won't kick in nearly as often.

The small amount of power the fan uses is greatly offset by the AC savings.

[FairMaiden]

How about no AC at all? We refuse to get it (tho I'm tired of waking up hot in the middle of the night, I'll get used to it by July)

I do all the things you suggested and I would add:

- buy more fresh food instead of frozen
- use power bars & turn off electronic using that when not in use
- wear appropriate clothing in the house to offset heat/coolness
- shower less often (I know ppl who shower 2x/day, I dont' really think thats necessary - wear more deodorant if necessary!)
- think about the most efficient way to cook whatever you are having (ie, heating something small - you can use your toaster oven instead of your larger oven)

[nella]

I do have a newer geothermal heat pump. I'm replacing ligtbulbs as they burn out w/ the CFIs.
I've always been careful w/ my heat and cooling. Themrometer is set at 68 in the winter and this winter I'm gonna see how 66 works. I do use a/c, but it's set at 80.
I telecommute and drive <3,000 miles yearly.
In general I try to be mindful.
But there's no way I'm going to dog someone out who is just starting out ( hopefully) by turning off his pc at night etc. It's a start in the right direction. Hopefully, this person will start examing his other uses of energy. Honestly, I don't get the condemnation. People have to start somewhere. My personal opinion is to encourage people, and keep them moving in right direction. It's how you teach successfully.