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Energy vampires biting into your budget
It used to be that people were advised to leave their computers on, to keep delicate circuits from popping during the stress part of a boot -- energy firing up those little guys. We only turned off the monitors to keep them from burning in.
We get used to the box on the cable gleaming at us -- giving us the time, being there for a quick check of weather -- and how many of us leave the DVR, DVD player or printer plugged in?
Now, they tell us that electronics are a huge draw on our energy grid.
I decided to experiment. I started turning off the TV strip, which included the DVR, DVD player and VCR, every night and turning it back on in the AM. I usually forget at least once a month, and if I go to bed before a late night Saturday show tapes, I leave it on Saturday nights. So -- 25 nights off, on average. I also started turning off the desktop computer when I thought of it, and completely unplugged the laptop. Figure in the last month I'm remembering three nights out of seven.
My TV is from 1998 or so. How much energy has it been drawing? Despite the fact that the A/C went on a month earlier this year, and we've already had two days over 100 F., my utility bill for last month is $25 LESS than it was this time last year. And we've had a price per watt increase.
I will now be religious about the TV, and start unplugging the entire computer wall, too. This is 20% of my electric bill. If I get religion about the computer, who knows how much I could save?
So if you've looking for a place to save a bit, plug all that TV stuff into a strip, and start flipping it at bedtime. I re-activate it 8/10 hours later, too. Just a 50% reduction is that great.
We get used to the box on the cable gleaming at us -- giving us the time, being there for a quick check of weather -- and how many of us leave the DVR, DVD player or printer plugged in?
Now, they tell us that electronics are a huge draw on our energy grid.
I decided to experiment. I started turning off the TV strip, which included the DVR, DVD player and VCR, every night and turning it back on in the AM. I usually forget at least once a month, and if I go to bed before a late night Saturday show tapes, I leave it on Saturday nights. So -- 25 nights off, on average. I also started turning off the desktop computer when I thought of it, and completely unplugged the laptop. Figure in the last month I'm remembering three nights out of seven.
My TV is from 1998 or so. How much energy has it been drawing? Despite the fact that the A/C went on a month earlier this year, and we've already had two days over 100 F., my utility bill for last month is $25 LESS than it was this time last year. And we've had a price per watt increase.
I will now be religious about the TV, and start unplugging the entire computer wall, too. This is 20% of my electric bill. If I get religion about the computer, who knows how much I could save?
So if you've looking for a place to save a bit, plug all that TV stuff into a strip, and start flipping it at bedtime. I re-activate it 8/10 hours later, too. Just a 50% reduction is that great.
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