How to Help Eliminate Phantom Power Drains
Phantom power (also known as standby power or vampire power) is electricity consumed by household appliances and electronics when they are plugged in but switched off. Phantom power sometimes results from devices employing passive features that remain dormant, but active even when the device appears shut down. Phantom power drain also results from voltage adapters leeching power simply by nature of their construction. By taking a handful of preventative steps, most individuals can curtail phantom power drains by a substantial amount, sometimes reducing their electrical bill by up to 10 percent. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Buy new -- as opposed to used or refurbished -- appliances when your current ones need replacing. Begun in 1999, a government program called the One Watt Initiative set limits on the maximum amount of energy phantom power appliances are legally allowed to consume. This program required partial compliance by all appliance manufactures by 2005, and full compliance by 2010. As a result, newer models of appliances sip phantom power at much more modest rates than their older counterparts.
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Use a wattmeter to measure which devices in the home are the worst standby power offenders. Before you go out and buy one, call your local government -- many districts have under-advertised programs that allow citizens to borrow wattmeters free of charge in order to encourage responsible energy use.
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Avoid charging your battery-powered devices (phones and mp3 players) more than is needed. Overnight charges are generally excessive for most devices. Remember to unplug the charger when charging is complete.
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Unplug devices when you're not using then. This is the simplest and most effective method to cut down on phantom power consumption. Devices with lights that remain on after shutdown, such as standby lights or clocks and devices with remote control functionality, such as television sets and audio systems should be high-priority targets. If unplugging many devices proves to be too much of a hassle, consider plugging all devices you want to unplug regularly into a power strip with a physical on-off switch instead. Power strips with built-in timers can also be used to automatically "unplug" devices if remembering everyday proves difficult.
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Tips & Warnings
Pay extra attention to phantom power consumption during the warmest months of the year. Heat lost to phantom currents can substantially increase the temperature of a room, thus requiring more air conditioner power to cool it back down. Phantom power drains can end up being doubly costly in the summertime for this reason. If you cannot obtain a watt meter, loosely judge phantom power consumption simply by touch -- devices that stay warm longer after shutdown generally tend to be using more phantom powers than those that cool down quickly.
Some devices, particularly ones with integrated clocks, use constant power to save data and user settings. Be careful what you are unplugging, as you may accidentally restore one of your devices to its factory defaults.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit electrical outlet image by Mat Hayward from Fotolia.com
