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Most of us have a number of very cool electronic gadgets that make our lives much easier and fun. Problem is, they're huge electricity hogs, using far more energy than we realize while draining our pocketbooks of money we could use in better ways.
First, some surprising statistics:
- In 1980 our households had about three consumer electronic products.
- In 2010 we have an average of 25!
- A large flat-panel television pulls more electricity than many refrigerators!
- Worldwide, consumer electronics represent 15% of household demand. This is expected to triple over the next two decades.
As wonderful as our iPods, cell phones, game consoles and fancy flat-panel televisions may be, the International Energy Agency says they are making it very difficult to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.
Part of the problem is that while the devices may be on quiet "idle," they are still drawing electricity as they await a signal from a remote control or wait to record a program. Even when we turn many of these appliances off, they continue to pull electricity.
Here are a couple of examples: A photocopier left on overnight will use enough energy to make 1500 copies, according to the University of Bradford, England. A cordless phone unit draws constant power during charging and standby modes, pulling 28 kilowatt hours of energy per phone annually.
What can we do? Get some power strips and plug your microwave, toaster ovens and other kitchen appliances into the strips. When you close down the kitchen at night, turn off the power strip. Do the same with televisions, sound systems, computers and other office equipment. Steve Long, director of government relations at the Nature Conservancy's Easter region in Boston says that "smart" power strips will protect against electrical surges as well as sense when the devices are not in use and shut them down completely. Glenn Fay, an online retailer who specializes in earth-friendly technology products says that shutting down appliances seven or eight hours a night will save you at least $100 a year on your electrical bill.
After charging your cell phones, camera batteries and other electronic devices, unplug them from the wall.
Turn off your computer, printer, copier and fax machines at night.
Simple tasks like this are easy green choices, which also happen to save you money at the same time. That's something to celebrate!
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