Green Tips – Just about every home these days has several electronic devices that stay on all the time. We’re talking about cell phones, laptops, computer monitors, modems, flat screen TV’s, wireless phones, iPods, game consoles, clocks, etc., etc. In 1980 an average home in the US had a whopping total of three such gadgets. Today it’s more like twenty-five.
And guess what? They all use electricity. These days, this type of household electronic gadget or appliance accounts for about 15% of household electrical demand.
In the 1950s and 60s larger appliances like washing machines, self-cleaning ovens, dish washers and vacuum cleaners were thought of as “labor saving devices”. People used them to make it much easier to do basic household tasks. Today a lot of our electronic devices are for entertainment or communication. Usually they are left on all the time, while they each use small amounts of electricity 24/7.
Many concerned researchers estimate that over the next twenty years the amount of electricity required around the world to keep our gadgets running is going to triple. If that happens we will need about 560 coal or gas fired power plants or up to 230 nuclear plants. Something has to give.
One way to save energy on these devices in your home is to shut them off when they are not being used. Many devices are designed to remain on because they store the time or date in memory. However this is changing.
Some devices – like telephones for instance – have to remain in an instant-on or semi-dormant state to be ready to receive incoming calls. But others like computer monitors and game consoles can be shut off with no loss of functionality. Many of us tend to just leave them on. We do that either because we don’t want to wait for them to boot up, or because someone told us it is less stressful on the system to be left on.
That may have been a useful strategy at one time, but almost never is the case any more. Every computer has a power saving program built right in to the operating system. Set it up properly, or simply shut the computer down between uses.
Another idea is to purchase smart power strips that turn themselves off when the devices plugged into them are not in use. That cuts their power consumption to zero when not being used.
Most of us could benefit from having a “device audit” done on our homes. All that means is taking a close look at all the devices you have running all the time, and eliminating some of that waste. You can do that either by replacing the items or devising strategies for turning them off when not in use.
Tags: gadgets, Green Tips and Healthy Housing, household appliances, save electricity
