Saving Energy- One Leaking Device At a Time

Several times I argued with my dad, who is kind of conservationist about switching the TV off on the wall. He was scared of TV bursting out in case of lightening strike. He also said the TV was still wasting energy and showed me that small LED which remains lit. I told him that it is negligible power and to prove my point, got my power meter.

Boy, I was wrong. The TV was consuming a handy dose of power, 13 watts to be precise.

I took this investigation further to all the devices I was running continuously. Following were my observations.

My Netgear router consumes 3 Watts.

The DSL model consumes 2 Watts.

The speakers consume 5 Watts. And oh, surprise! The speakers consumed power even when switched off. They stopped sucking off power only when the plug was removed.

The microwave with door open and lamp running consumed 21 Watts. The microwave with door closed and only LED running consumed 1 Watt.

Assuming I use internet and computer for about 4 hours a day (I don’t but 4 hour use makes 20 hours non use, that figure is easy for my calculation which follows.)  I run DSL model, router and speakers for 20 hours extra. I will not count in TV because it is at my parents’ house and I don’t have TV in my apartment. So say I use 10 W electricity for 20 hrs a day, 30 days a month. That makes it 6000 WH, or 6 KWH per month. At 10c KWH, I will save 0.6$.

OK, not much monetary benefit there. But at 1.5 lb of CO2/KWH, I still saved atmosphere from about 9 lb CO2.

Now I don’t have a TV, automatic garage door, night lamp, or security system. Go on adding these or any equipment that are alive 24 hours, waiting for human signals, and this figure starts swelling. I remember reading somewhere (sorry can’t find reference) that about 4% of electricity consumption in USA is by leaking devices. 

What is the cost of shutting off these leaking devices when not required? A couple more switches to push and sometimes some plugs to put in socket. But I think it’s worth it.

So let’s do it. Plug those leaks and breathe a little more fresh air. 

~ by Kedar on November 27, 2006.