mm wrote:

On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:05:06 GMT, M Q
wrote:
....
Central AC outdoor unit 20-40 watts (two different units)


I don't understand this one. Have AC's changed, or do all brands have
this, and what is outside that is using current when the AC isn't
running? Are we talking about 12 months a year?
....
Yes, we are talking 12 months a year unless you turn off the breakers.

One of the ACs was a 4 Ton Carrier unit. The power was consumed
by a 40 watt "crankcase heater". These are more common in larger
(4, 5, or more ton) AC condensers (outdoor units), those that are a longer
distance from the indoor unit, those that use R-410a, and in heat pumps.
Sometimes they are thermostatically controlled. This one was not.

The other is a 3 Ton Trane 2-stage condenser. The 20 watts appeared
to be consumed by a variable speed fan controller. This one is
totally inexcusable, as an added relay would pay for itself in less
than 1/2 a year.

These are the sort of things that California's Vampire Slayer bill
(which appears to have not become law) that the OP referred to might
embarrass manufacturers into cleaning up.

Note: some of the power consumption figures that I mentioned were
apparent power (measured in "Volt-Amps" -- the vector sum of real
power and reactive power) because it was easier to measure, and
some were in real power (measured in Watts). Kill-A-Watt measures both.
Residential power meters generally measure real power. The cost to the utility
is somewhere in between.