Monday, April 17, 2006

article on energy efficiency

occasionally, i'll receive an email from the union of concerned scientists. (i may have mentioned this before-it makes me feel smart). today's article is entitled "are energy vampires in your home?" i can understand a bit better now why my husband likes for me to turn electronics off instead of letting them idle in the "on" position. of course, i can't just listen to him.

standby energy loss only makes up for 5% of an individual home's energy loss, but when we put all U.S. households into the equation-we make up for a loss of 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

consumer cost-5.8 billion annually.

heat trapping CO2 going into the atmosphere each year-87 billion lbs.

some big energy wasters-adapters that come with battery operated cordless phones, cell phones, digital cameras, music players, power tools and other electronic devices. they all draw power when plugged into an outlet. appliances or electronics with standby capability (eg. tv, computer monitors, digital clock displays on microwaves, dvd players, stereos, etc.).

here's a link to a UN article on a multi-country study of the energy consumption of equipment on standby. it's at least worth buzzing through to check out the comparisons of countries. guess who might be on top of the energy consumption list? link

1 comment:

geoff and sherry said...

thanks jodester. i've been trying to unplug stuff in our home but it's a pain in the...outlet. seeing the numbers, though, makes it seem like a worthwhile effort. i also get the union of concerned scientists email after you tipped me off to it. i have now dropped my membership with the union of unconcerned christians.