There was a thread on TVs and how they use electricity when turned
off. DOE is researching the issue of appliances using energy when in
"standy mode." You might think this is minimal, but when you add up
the TV, game consoles, stereos, DSL/cable routers, computers, etc. DOE
says it can be 10% of your energy usage. There are ways to reduce
energy usage anyway by unplugging less used appliances. Putting
computers in hyberate mode is better than a screen saver. Not sure if
all appliances are energy-star compliant.

On Jan 27, 7:56*am, Phisherman wrote:
There was a thread on TVs and how they use electricity when turned
off. *DOE is researching the issue of appliances using energy when in
"standy mode." *You might think this is minimal, but when you add up
the TV, game consoles, stereos, DSL/cable routers, computers, etc. DOE
says it can be 10% of your energy usage. *There are ways to reduce
energy usage anyway by unplugging less used appliances. *Putting
computers in hyberate mode is better than a screen saver. *Not sure if
all appliances are energy-star compliant.

Only testing what you have will tell you what you can save, standby
varies to much and is less every year. A Kill-A-Watt meter or clamp on
amp meter is what you want.

Phisherman wrote:

There was a thread on TVs and how they use electricity when turned
off. DOE is researching the issue of appliances using energy when in
"standy mode." You might think this is minimal, but when you add up
the TV, game consoles, stereos, DSL/cable routers, computers, etc. DOE
says it can be 10% of your energy usage. There are ways to reduce
energy usage anyway by unplugging less used appliances. Putting
computers in hyberate mode is better than a screen saver. Not sure if
all appliances are energy-star compliant.

I think that 10% from "phantom loads" would be a pretty extreme case,
1-2% is probably more typical. Yes, there is standby power used by a lot
of stuff, in particular anything with a remote control.

You can reduce some of it, like putting chargers for cell phones and
whatnot on power strips and turning them off when you're away. You could
put stuff on a timer to automate that, but the timer also uses standby
power. If you can cluster all your phantom loads to one power strip on a
timer you could still save while minimizing the hassle.

Stuff like cable and satellite boxes don't handle full power off well
and you loosed program guides and settings which can be an issue in many
cases.

Many people run servers of one sort of another so a computer and router
are on 24x7 which is a sizable power draw. Just changing the computer
used as the server to an old laptop can cut the power consumption quite
a bit. A regular desktop machine running as a server (no monitor on)
runs around $15-$20/mo in power while a laptop should be more like
$5-$10/mo.

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf



"Phisherman" wrote in message
There was a thread on TVs and how they use electricity when turned
off. DOE is researching the issue of appliances using energy when in
"standy mode." You might think this is minimal, but when you add up
the TV, game consoles, stereos, DSL/cable routers, computers, etc. DOE
says it can be 10% of your energy usage. There are ways to reduce
energy usage anyway by unplugging less used appliances. Putting
computers in hyberate mode is better than a screen saver. Not sure if
all appliances are energy-star compliant.

In article ,
"Bill" wrote:

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf




Yeah, they add up. " ... whole house losses have been estimated to be 50
watts ..."

Damn, that's 36 kwh per month. Almost $5. No wonder I'm so poor all the
time. The gubmint should pay me for all that waste.

Thanks for the link, amazing how many appliances and household items
draw power in standby mode. Worse for people who use technology.

On Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:54:26 -0800, "Bill"
wrote:

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf



"Phisherman" wrote in message
There was a thread on TVs and how they use electricity when turned
off. DOE is researching the issue of appliances using energy when in
"standy mode." You might think this is minimal, but when you add up
the TV, game consoles, stereos, DSL/cable routers, computers, etc. DOE
says it can be 10% of your energy usage. There are ways to reduce
energy usage anyway by unplugging less used appliances. Putting
computers in hyberate mode is better than a screen saver. Not sure if
all appliances are energy-star compliant.

On Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:15:36 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
"Bill" wrote:

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf




Yeah, they add up. " ... whole house losses have been estimated to be 50
watts ..."

Damn, that's 36 kwh per month. Almost $5. No wonder I'm so poor all the
time. The gubmint should pay me for all that waste.
My house uses double that. I have lots of small loads like X-10
modules and controllers, print servers, DVRs, etc. I have thought of
putting up a small solar cell array that would match the "standby"
load. That way, I would only use purchased power when I actually
turned something on to use it. I know that is a purely arbitrary
amount of power to generate via solar, but it might make me feel
better about the waste.

In article ,
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:15:36 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
"Bill" wrote:

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer
Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf




Yeah, they add up. " ... whole house losses have been estimated to be 50
watts ..."

Damn, that's 36 kwh per month. Almost $5. No wonder I'm so poor all the
time. The gubmint should pay me for all that waste.
My house uses double that. I have lots of small loads like X-10
modules and controllers, print servers, DVRs, etc. I have thought of
putting up a small solar cell array that would match the "standby"
load. That way, I would only use purchased power when I actually
turned something on to use it. I know that is a purely arbitrary
amount of power to generate via solar, but it might make me feel
better about the waste.

And my house uses probably 1/4 that. Toys cost money.

On Jan 28, 8:52*pm, Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,



wrote:
On Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:15:36 -0800, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
"Bill" wrote:

Here ya go. Starting on page 8, it lists how much electricity various home
electrical things use when "off'. Of course these all add up.

Leaking Electricity: Individual Field Measurement of Consumer
Electronics...
http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/ACEEE-Leaking.pdf

Yeah, they add up. " ... whole house losses have been estimated to be 50
watts ..."

Damn, that's 36 kwh per month. Almost $5. No wonder I'm so poor all the
time. The gubmint should pay me for all that waste.
My house uses double that. *I have lots of small loads like X-10
modules and controllers, print servers, DVRs, etc. *I have thought of
putting up a small solar cell array that would match the "standby"
load. *That way, I would only use purchased power when I actually
turned something on to use it. *I know that is a purely arbitrary
amount of power to generate via solar, but it might make me feel
better about the waste.

And my house uses probably 1/4 that. Toys cost money.

toys cost money so ya got to *think* - one of my computers has a wake
on LAN feature so when I power it down at night its with its surge
protector so no WOL for it...