how to eliminate electricity vampires and save on your bills
11 June 2008
Standby power, also called vampire power, phantom load, or leaking electricity, refers to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. A very common "electricity vampire" is a power adapter which has no power-off switch. While this consumption of power may be used to provide useful functions for appliances such as remote controls and digital clocks to the user, most power consumed by non-operational devices is considered wasted.
Devices and functions that consume standby power
- Power supplies, transformers and inefficient electronic devices, for example battery chargers. Those constantly generate heat that can't be further used.
- "Instant on" functions, like remote control receivers, waiting for the user to interact.
- Displays and condition indicators, such as clocks, temperature gages and status indicators, for instance the standby LEDs on electronic devices, although the power used by such indicators is very small (milliwatt range).
- internal clocks and sensors;
- external clock displays and panel display LEDs;
- remote control sensors;
- battery rechargers and power-conversion packs;
- communications between a base unit and a portable unit (as in a portable phone).
- Consumer electronics, like TVs, VCRs, and DVD players, as well as cordless phones and phone/answering machines;
- Computer and office equipment, including CPUs, monitors, printers, scanners, fax machines, copiers, and water coolers;
- Major appliances like refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, and clothes washers;
- Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, as well as fans, dehumidifiers, and air purifiers;
- Light fixtures and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Although the power needed for functions like displays, indicators, and remote control receivers is only in the milliwatt range, power supplies that are used to convert the AC line voltage to the low voltage needed to perform the functions typically operate at very low efficiency when they are operating at low power. As a result, the power consumed from the mains is often in the range of 1 W to 10 W or more, even when only a few tens of mW or less are needed.
HOW MUCH IS LOST?
Exact figures on total losses to standby power are not available, but the most recent major survey on the subject estimated that in the United States, 5% of electricity usage is due to standby power. In Europe, the numbers run slightly higher: France at 7% and Germany and the Netherlands at 10% each. Australia comes in at 11%, Japan at 12%.
Depending on the efficiency of your unit's design, the standby power use can be minimal or substantial. And even though home electronics aren't typically the biggest electricity users in a house, vampire power can still cost you up to 10% of your electric bill.
The US department of Energy states that "Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These "phantom" loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. This can be avoided by unplugging the appliance or using a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance."
CNN writes that Alan Meier of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been studying vampire electronics for years. "Each home now has anywhere from 10 to 50 of these products, so that adds up and represents as much as a month of your electricity bill," he says.
We plugged a DVD player that wasn't even playing a DVD into a watt meter, and it showed consumption of 11.32 watts with the power on. "I've turned it off, and now its drawing six watts," Meier says.
"Electric toothbrushes draws about 1.8 watts constantly … so its about $2 a year in energy consumption." Meier's home computer is just standing by. But it's drawing 65 watts.
According to sciencedaily.com, a Cornell University energy expert estimates that these so-called "vampire" appliances cost consumers $3 billion a year — or about $200 per household.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
There are a few simple methods to reduce standby power. The easiest way to do that is to simply unplug the unused devices. To switch off several devices that are often used together such as a PC, a monitor and a printer it is advisable to use a switchable power bar or surge protector with multiple sockets. Another alternative is to consider buying energy saving devices or devices that offer a real off switch. Replacing battery powered devices, such as cordless phones or rechargeable razors with corded alternatives not only cuts down on the standby power required to charge the battery, but also reduces energy lost in battery charging and discharging inefficiencies.
- If timers and other features aren't being used, consumers can turn off their most wasteful appliances by plugging them into fuse-protected power strips (also known as surge protectors) that, when turned off, can disrupt the flow of electricity when the appliances aren't being used.
- When choosing a new appliance, consumers can research if it uses less than 1 watt of standby power by accessing web sites such as http://standby.lbl.gov/data/1wproducts.html at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
There's a cool little gadget available that can help you determine which of your plug-in items are the most inefficient power consumers. It's the Kill-A-Watt electricity usage monitor. You just plug it into the wall outlet and then plug your electrical device into the Kill-a-Watt monitor. It will allow you to assess how efficient the electrical device is. You can calculate the item's electrical cost by the day, week, month, or year to help you decide whether a more efficient model would save you money over time.
other sources:
http://www.grinningplanet.com/2004/10-26/vampire-power-electricity-article.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standby_power
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