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The consumption of energy by home electronic products is inevitable. However, by actively managing the existing devices and selecting energy-efficient replacements, you can virtually eliminate the 5-8% of the average American’s electricity bill that results from the electricity consumed during off-peak times.
Product Types
How It Works
Energy-efficient electronic devices are more efficient while operating, utilizing switch-mode power supplies and “smart” chargers to perform more efficiently than conventional models. Additionally, their power managing technologies only deliver charge when needed and/or reduce reliance on a “standby” mode.
Low Cost Savings Tips
- While most energy consumption can be attributed to “standby” consumption, remembering to turn of the television or stereo when not use will reduce electricity bills.
- If changing to an energy-efficient model isn’t possible, make unplugging appliances and electronics easy by plugging all the devices into a power strip with an On/Off switch and turn the switch to “Off” when not in use. This will ensure that no electricity is being used.
- When this is not possible and some appliances must remain on at all times, simply investing in “smart” power strips can be used to measure activity levels based on energy use at each port, and reduce the need to invest in all new electronics.
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- Much of the energy use associated with home electronics is generated when the devices are not in use, but in “standby” mode, as the device displays the time or a charge is transmitted to a completely charged unit.
- Even when appliances and electronics are “off”, they continue to draw a slight amount of power if they’re still plugged in, contributing to your home’s “phantom load”.
- If every American home traded their conventional TVs, DVD players, and telephones for energy efficient models, we could save 25 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to taking more than 2 million cars off the road.
- Different models and features of a given device vary widely in their energy consumption. For example, LCD televisions consume half as much electricity as plasma TVs. Therefore, when purchasing, examine efficiencies across technologies within each product class and amongst the products themselves.
- Set-top boxes receive television signals from a particular source (cable, satellite, etc.) and deliver them to a display or recording device, such as a TV or DVR. Energy efficient models are at least 30% more efficient than conventional models. Check to see whether your carrier provides energy efficient boxes.
- If all set-top boxes in the U.S. met the ENERGY STAR specifications, the achieved reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be the equivalent of taking 2.5 million vehicles off the road.
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