Energy Savers

I Found My Energy Role Model

Last week, while home on a rare weekday afternoon, I happened to catch an episode of Oprah. One of her guests on this particular day was the actor Ed Begley, Jr. The episode caught my attention because it wasn't focused on his acting, but on his quest to make his home and life as environmentally friendly and energy efficient as possible.

I had heard of Mr. Begley's efforts in this arena in the past (apparently he has a reality TV show), but I didn't know the details, so I tuned in. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to learn much or even be very impressed. After all, the guy is a famous actor and presumably has financial resources that most of us don't; of COURSE he can install a few solar panels, right?

Please Stand By: Reduce Your Standby Power Use

Standby power, vampire power, phantom loads, leaking electricity… Whatever you want to call it, standby power is the power consumed by a product when in the lowest power consuming mode—typically when the product is switched off or not performing its primary purpose.

Alan Meier and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) noted that many household appliances are never fully switched off, but spend most of the time in a standby mode, consuming electricity to power such features as clocks and remote control operation. They estimated that standby power accounts for 5%-10% of household electricity consumption.

Ener-Gee Whiz Answers Your Questions: Wind vs. Solar

Costa writes: Do you think using wind is better than using solar to generate electricity?

Ener-Gee Whiz: If you're considering installing a renewable energy system and are having a hard time deciding between the wind turbines and solar panels, you might find that the right renewable energy system for you depends on a number of factors.

10 Resources to Help You Save Energy Now

A lot of the feedback that I see about the Energy Savers.gov site says, "This is great, but way too detailed. I just want to know what's easy and what I can do now!" And that makes sense; EnergySavers.gov has a lot of information about a lot of topics—you can learn about buying efficient appliances, choosing new heating and cooling systems, selecting windows, and even how to use renewable energy.

But not everyone wants to make a big purchase right now; many of you want to know how you can save with what you have or with just a small investment in time and money. These 10 resources detail easy ways that you can start saving now:

Power Right. Power Smart. Efficient Computer Power Supplies and Monitors.

Power supplies convert the AC power that you get from your electric company into the DC power consumed by most electronics, including your computer. We expect our power supplies to be safe, reliable, and durable. If they meet those criteria, then they're all alike, except for cost, right?

Well, not exactly. You see, there's one other important feature that sets them apart: efficiency. And I don't know about you, but I believe waste is bad. For me, high efficiency is one important feature that's needed for something to be high quality. So isn't it ridiculous that most power supplies waste a lot of the electricity they consume?

Question of the Week: How Do You Reduce the Energy Used by Computers and Office Electronics?

This week, John told us about purchasing an energy-efficient computer. Buying an efficient computer is a great start to reducing the energy used by your office equipment, but computers aren't they only office electronics that use energy. Between monitors, printers, scanners, routers, external hard drives, speakers, and the many other products you can purchase to support your computing, the energy used by these products can really add up.

How do you reduce the energy used by your computers and office electronics?

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a topic related to energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Going for the Gold (Computer)

Last summer I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new computer. My old one was getting sluggish. I had purchased the original one about 10 years earlier and had upgraded various components every several years. But it was still showing its age.

I wanted another desktop. It was a no brainer that it had to be an ENERGY STAR® model, both computer and monitor. But selecting one was not that simple. You see, I know that the ENERGY STAR criteria are constantly changing, requiring manufacturers to make their units more and more efficient. The stricter ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Specification for Computers, for example, will go into effect on July 1, 2009. Though the new criteria may not be in effect, some existing models may be out there already that meet the upcoming, stricter criteria. Moreover, there are "levels" of efficiency. Even among ENERGY STAR models, some computers and monitors are more frugal at sipping electricity than others. I pride myself on being an energy specialist, and a conscientious treehugger, so I had to have one of the more efficient models.

Stars on TV—ENERGY STARS®, That Is.

Perhaps I'm showing my age, but it seems it wasn't long ago that a 27" screen TV was considered large. Now, with ever larger Plasma and LCD thin televisions coming to market, the old 19", 20", and 27" models are downright tiny. As the screen size increases, however, so too at times does the energy consumption. This has not gone unnoticed by utility companies, energy specialists, and governments, who have become alarmed by the increasing electricity usage due to "electricity guzzling" television sets. According to the U.S. EPA, there are about 275 million TVs currently in use in the United States, consuming 4% of all household electricity use—enough electricity to power all the homes in the state of New York for an entire year.

As you probably know, current plans call for full-power broadcast television stations in the United States to stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital beginning in mid-February 2009. Those with older analog television sets will need to purchase a digital converter box if they wish to continue to receive over-the-air broadcasts. This regulation may also be an incentive for many to retire their old analog sets and purchase one of those sleek, thin digital TVs. How do you find one that won't break your monthly electricity budget?

Question of the Week: What Have You Done to Cut Your Use of Standby Power?

On Tuesday, we wrote about standby power that can be used even when a plugged-in product is turned off. Standby power can equal up to 10% of your energy use, but there are some easy ways to reduce your use.

What have you done to cut your use of standby power?

Each Thursday, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Stop Paying for Energy You Aren't Using

Back in October, we heard a lot about "energy vampires." A very convenient holiday metaphor, to be sure, but you're probably not in the Halloween spirit in January. Nonetheless, you may be in the mood to reduce your energy costs, and standby power is something worth considering all year round.