Saving Energy--Appliances and Electronic Devices

Mass Audubon’s energy policy requires the use of Energy Star appliances—a good practice for all of us. If there’s an appliance purchase in your future, you might want to check out their website. 

Turning off lights, appliances and electronic devices when they’re not in use is also a good practice. What I didn’t realize is that some items continue to draw current even when they are seemingly turned off.

The appliances page of the DOE site points out that about 20% of the average home’s energy bill is the result of appliance use. They give the same advice—use Energy Star appliances and turn off appliances when they’re not in use. But about halfway down this page they use the term “phantom loads” to describe this phenomenon. Did you know that about 25% of the power used by home electronics is consumed when they are turned off? Do you know what you can do about it? We found a video that has interesting recommendations.

View the video here

If you’re not interested in the Kill-A-Watt device, keep on reading down the DOE page. They identify the “vampire devices” that are the greatest culprits and suggest easy-to-implement ways of dealing with them. They have a page that shows you how to estimate appliance energy use that has also links to more sophisticated and detailed energy calculators.

That’s especially good if you’re getting ready to build or remodel. But it’s also nice to know that there are simple, low-cost things we can all do to reduce energy use in our daily lives. Consumer Reports has a book on the subject and provides a lot of free content on its site.

One of the things that really strikes me as I research these topics is how often that I’m told I can do something that’s ecologically positive and actually save money in the process. Can you offer additional insights, resources and experiences?

Comments

[Ashely]

I think one thing to keep in mind is that older TVs often times use much less energy than newer TVs. If you do not need a new TV, then don't buy one, but if you do buy one, follow what this post says.

One habit that is easily formed is that of throwing away when something perfectly functioning is replaced. Where do you think this old item is going to go, end up, and what will the affects of it be on the environment? Out of sight out of mind shows it face when dealing with issues like this.