Awhile back, I was watching an episode of Oprah that focused on decreasing your electricity use. The expert on the show talked about something I had not thought about: all of the appliances that use electricity even when they're "off".
It's a phenomenon that's called "Vampire Power"--appliances that use electricity even when you're not using them. When I first heard about this, I really thought this was much ado about nothing: you turn your TV off, and it's off, right? Well, not exactly. It seems that a lot of appliances, even when they are in the "off" position, are still drawing electricity, because they're in standby mode.
The expert on the Oprah show claimed that up to 25 percent of your electric usage was from this so-called "Vampire Power". This number sounded high to me, so I went to my old friend Wikipedia to see what they had to say about it. Wikipedia reported that the energy usage can reach up to 22 percent of all appliance consumption, and around 10 percent of total residential consumption--in other words, your electric bill will likely decrease by 10 percent if you completely turn off appliances with standby power.
So I tried a little experiment. Upstairs, I began turning off the power strip that connected the TV, VCR/DVD player, and cable box when I wasn't watching TV. I unplugged the clock-radio in the guest room. My boom box is unplugged when not being used.
Downstairs, I swapped out my ten year old desktop computer to my newly-acquired laptop computer, and turned off that power strip when the computer wasn't in use. I unplugged my programmable coffee maker unless I was making coffee and unplugged the stove (which had a built-in clock--which never worked right, anyway) when not in use. I also changed out the eight incandescent bulbs in my dining room to compact florescent lights (CFL's).
In the words of the late, great Monkees, I'm a believer! Consumption of electricity upstairs (yes, I have two electric meters in my house) has decreased 17 percent, even with the cold winter that we've had (and the furnace clicking on more often).
The big news, however, is consumption downstairs. My electric bill has decreased by a whopping 52 percent! Sure, the CFL's were expensive (specialty chandelier-sized bulbs cost about $6 each), but I've recouped this cost and then some in the six months or so that I've swapped them out.
If you want to take similar measures in your home, it's pretty easy. Generally speaking, anything with a remote and/or a built-in clock consumes electricity, even when it's off. Things such as lamps with an on/off switch don't consume electricity when turned to the off position. You can easily turn off appliances by using a power strip that has an on/off switch.
Of course, you can also do a lot of common sense things that also add up: take my lead and swap out your incandescent bulbs with CFL's. They last a long time (some of mine are nearly 10 years old) and consume a fraction of what an incandescent bulb does. Just remember that CFL's light is usually dimmer than incandescent, so opt for the highest wattage (you'll still save money). You can also (duh) turn lights off in rooms that aren't being used. If you like to leave a light on for home security's sake, get one of those timers so that it comes on and off only when it's dark.
And I think you'll see that these relatively small changes can add up to significant savings. And you'll be using less vampire power-bwaaahaaaahaaahaaahaaa!
excellent post and useful knowledge!
ReplyDeletei get to work earlier than most in our office. when ive put my lunch away (in the disgusting refrigerator) and filled up my water bottle, i exit the kitchen and, how dare i, turn off the light. this annoys some. you would think i chew tobacco and spit on the floor.
good job on reducing the electricity bill!
-g from the DC