As you are reading this on a screen the answer is probably 'yes'. I was surprised when a UK money writer left his usual newsletter track to tell me about a $35 gadget to measure power usage. He expects to save over $370 on his annual electricity bill using this device.
Electricity costs 3 times more in the UK than in Canada so I doubt I can beat his return on a $35 investment. However, I borrowed the same gadget free from our wonderful local library, so I don't have to spend any cash.
How does this work? Many appliances, equipment and support systems for our modern lives, use power when they are switched off. A lot of power. Seems the urban legend about the clock on the microwave using more power than the oven is true! Anything that shows lights, a clock or has standby mode is using power (in our house that's stereos, a radio, a DVD/VCR, computers etc ). While the amounts are small, when they are multiplied 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, costs start to climb.
Ask Around is Bullfrog powered so our 'greener' electricity costs 8.9c for each Kilowatt hour (KWH). This means a gizmo that burns 1 watt of power per hour (.001KWH) costs around 78c when it runs full time for a year. Doesn't sound like much, except that few things use only 1 watt in standby mode. Between 5 and 10 watts is more usual. Micheal Bluejay's useful site has some figures for computers and other stuff.
The first leak I plan to fix is our multitude of transformers. These are the big black lumps that provide small amounts of current for gadgets. Walking around our house I counted 17 transformers running lights and equipment;. Every thing from the TV antenna, to my daughter's walkie-talkies, to phone chargers and the digital piano. None of them have switches to cut the power from the wall outlet, and Canadian outlets are not switched, so these power leakers need to be unplugged when they are not being used. Otherwise they are generating heat and burning power, even if the device they run is switched off. Unplugging is bothersome when the outlets are behind furniture, so I bought some switched power bars.
My Kill-a-Watt testing around the house showed that computer stuff was our worst 'ghost power' offender. My scanner , which has no 'off' switch, was burning 9 watts of power and a set of external speakers were using 4 watts, even when visibly switched off . The DVD/VCR unit added another 5.5 and with other bits and pieces I collected stand-by power savings of 33.5watts . Switching this lot off when not in use is going to cut our power bill by over $25 a year.
$25 is a 2.5% saving on our annual electricity bill. The power bars I bought cost a bit, but a dollar saved is $2 earned and the Bullfrogs won't have to peddle quite so hard to keep Ask Around up and running. Maybe Hydro-One can unplug a coal-fired generating plant if enough consumers make these simple changes.
If you need more electrical outlets to make this work for you, or find that you only have 2 prong, ungrounded outlet where you want to plug in a power bar, then you need an electrician. Fortunately Ask Around members have recommended a list of electricians, so finding a good one will not be a problem. Just click here. You may need to sign in to see all the details, or join if you are not yet a member.
Micheal Bluejay points out that most North Americans can save much more power than this through insulation, upgrading old appliances and lifestyle changes, such as solar powered clothes dryers (outdoor clothes lines); but it bugs me to be spending money on something I'm not using, and didn't even know about.
If this bugs you too go count your transformers and glowing lights and ask your library about power usage meters. Check here if you want to buy one.
Let me know how you get on: Leave a comment below or send me an email.
So the bottom line is to unplug appliances which are not in use to avoid "ghost power, and use natural sources of power if possible.
Posted by: Vivan Lantry | August 05, 2011 at 10:34 AM