We have added many go green products to reduce energy in our homes. But have we forgotten about many of the small energy consumers in our home that are wasting energy every day? I am talking about those small little black power supplied plugged in all around our home.
Every time we purchase some new going green product, cell phone, portable vacuum cleaner, radio, battery charger, computer speakers or audio surround sound speakers to name a few they come with these little power supplies. When you look around; you will be surprised how many you will find plugged in.
Another area to look at is audio/video equipment, TVs, video games, converter boxes, computer equipment or the latest green products. This equipment comes with a standby or power down mode of operation.
In business small and large alike we all have those little power supplies connected to our printers, USB hubs, network hubs, desk lights and a few personnel items wither they are go green product or not. Each one of these devices and even many of those new going green products are consuming power even when an electronic device is not connected to it.
The amount of electricity each device is using is small but when you add together the total number of units plugged into the wall the number gets quite large. Remember they are drawing electricity every hour they are plugged in even if its one of the new green products on the market.
They can't use that much energy!
Most utilities will state that close to 15% of your electric bill is those little power supplies and standby electronic equipment. That will amount to $65-$95 dollars wasted per year.
So what does going green products, video components and black power supplies have in common? They all have a step-down power supply connect to the power grid. What is a step-down power supply? It is hundreds of feet of small copper wire. Both sides of this wire are connected to the plug and when the unit is plugged into the wall socket, it is using tiny amounts of power. Don't believe me? Feel one that is plugged in, its warm isn't it?
In order for a TV/stereo/DVD to respond to the ON/OFF button on the remote it must have some power supplied to the unit that senses this action. This sense unit requires electricity to operate and is where the other end of the transformer is connected. So in order for it to work it must be supplied power 24/7 to operate.
What is the best way to stop this power drain?
It is not that hard. One of the simplest ways is to use more going green products or a device that has been around for years, a power strip with an on/off switch. Remember the thin power consoles with switches that sat under power hungry monitors? This was a solution a little ahead of its time.
Make sure you buy power strips with an on/off switch; this is the only way to make sure there is no connection to the 120 volt power in your home. When you turn the switch off you are truly disconnected from the power company and therefore no power consumption.
This may seem a little inconvenient but it will save you money and it gets to be a habit in a few weeks so you don't even notice.
How soon will I see the savings?
I pass my electric meter daily and see it spinning away even though I am using many go green products. I have also noticed my neighbors meter rotating about 1-2 rotations per minute when there is nobody home.
I bought 4 power strips with ON/OFF switches. I plugged in all my green products, audio/video equipment, then did the same in the area I do recharging, the computer area and some odd electrical equipment.
After turning off the power strips I checked the power meter, instead of the 1-2 times a minute I had dropped to one rotation every 2 minutes. That is a vast improvement and money I don't have to pay the utility company.
Try it and see what you can do. It will only cost you a few power strips, if I am right this will pay for itself in a few months and you can spend that money on more go green products.
Michael
