Standby Power: The Silent Drain On Your Energy Budget
You might think you’re doing everything necessary to lower your energy bills this summer. You keep the sun out, run heat-generating appliances only in the evening, turn off lights when you leave the room, and change the air conditioning filter once a month. All these measures are important, but you’re likely missing one important aspect that is silently draining your energy budget: standby power. Here’s a look at what standby power means and what you can do to counter it.
What is standby power? Many products left plugged in consume a small amount of energy, even when turned off. Examples of such devices include:
- Cell phone, mp3 player and camera battery chargers
- Game consoles
- DVD players, DVRs and TVs
- Computers, printers, routers and monitors
Sometimes, a small amount of energy consumption is useful, such as in illuminating clock displays and maintaining timers, but other times you’re simply wasting money on standby power.
Is the energy consumed through standby power enough to worry about? On average, you could save about $100 per year by preventing standby power from draining energy 24/7. If you want to enjoy energy savings with almost no effort, it’s worthwhile to address standby power.
How can I put a stop to standby power energy consumption?
- Seek Energy Star-qualified devices. These consume less energy when plugged in, which is especially important for devices with timers that you can’t unplug after use.
- Set your computer to “power saver” mode. That way, it goes to sleep when you’re away.
- Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point. Plug all your home entertainment equipment into one power strip, and all your office equipment into another. When you’re done using them for the day, flip the switch on the power strip to turn everything off at once.
- Unplug chargers. It’s convenient to keep chargers plugged in, but you’ll save energy by unplugging them.
To learn more about saving energy in your home this summer, please contact NisAir Air Conditioning and Heating. We serve Martin, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
