Standby Power Waste may account to 1% of the World energy related CO2 emission. In OECD countries, standby power waste accounts at least for 2.2% of the total electricity consumption. When properly and widely applied the total savings generated from the One Watt initiative will be in the order of 50 Millions tons of CO2 in the OECD countries only by 2010. This is equivalent to remove 18 Millions cars from OECD roads Paper: “Global Implication of Standby Power Use” ACEEE Summer Study 2000. Lebot B. & Meier A. Several global companies, including SONY or IBM, have already committed to reduce the standby power of most of the new products to lower than one Watt. For some end-uses, the energy saved in more than 90% compared to current practice and business as usual scenarios.
• source: One-Watt Initiative • See also XlnkS5A3
Monthly Archives: June 2003
Introduction to Phantom Loads
A great introductory article on “phantom loads” by Columbia University Reducing Leaking Electricity to a Trickle
• source: Phantom Load • Cross-Ref: Earth Institute • See also XlnkS5A0
Standby Power in Australia
Australian households could cut almost 12 percent from their energy bills by turning domestic appliances off at the wall, according to a report on our use of standby power. Money isn’t all you’re saving, a 10 year strategy to reduce the use of standby power, has been released following a meeting of the nation’s energy ministers at the Ministerial Council on Energy in Brisbane. The Federal Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, said that stand-by power consumption accounted for up to 11.6 percent of the nation’s household electricity usage, costing more than $500 million a year and generating about 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. see media release 2 December 2002
• source: Phantom Load • See also XlnkS5A0
Phantom Loads and GHG emission
If all TV and VCR in the US were plugged in only when they were used, it would save American nearly $1 billion dollars and about 9 million tonnes CO2.
• source: Phantom Load • Cross-Ref: You Can Prevent Global Warming • See also XlnkS5A0
Energy Use of U.S. Consumer Electronics
This in-depth report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the US government provides detailed data on energy use of electronic equipment as well as use frequency and standby consumption. The major consumer electronics in U.S. homes accounted for over 10% of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999, which is comparable to the electricity consumed by refrigerators or lighting. The results of this study are astounding: Consumer electronics consumed 113 TWh in the U.S. in 1999, over 60% of which was consumed while the products were not in use…. Consumer
weblink: Energy Report • from: Lawrence berkeley National Laboratory • in detail • see also: Phantom Load XlnkS5A4 XlnkC18AC
One-Watt Initiative
A world wide initiative to reduce the stand-by power of most electronic devices to 1 watt.
weblink: One watt paper • from: Energy Globe 2002 • in detail • see also: Phantom Load XlnkS5A3 XlnkC18AB
Reducing Leaking Electricity to a Trickle
Many electronic devices continue to consume energy even while switched off or not performing their principal service. This phenomenon has acquired several names, including standby power, standby losses, leaking electricity, waiting electricity, free-running power, off-mode power,and phantom loads. The leaking electricity found in televisions, VCRs, garage door openers, cordless phones and many other appliances has a surprisingly large impact on the global environment. Worldwide, phantom loads are responsible of 1% of CO2 emission.
weblink: Phantom load article • in detail • see also: Phantom Load XlnkS5A2
Earth Institute
An academic center for the integrated study of Earth, its environment, and society. The Earth Institute uses a multidisciplinary approach, integrating – earth sciences, biological sciences, engineering sciences, social sciences and health sciences – to address complex problems in the field of sustainable development, with special emphasis on the needs of the world’s poor.
weblink: Earth Institute Web Site • from: Columbia University • in detail XlnkS5A1 XlnkC18AA
Phantom Load
Phantom load or “standby power” or “leaking electricity” refers to electricity consumed by devices while they are switched off. Many electrical devices – from air conditioners to VCRs – cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw power 24 hours a day, often without the knowledge of the consumer. In particularly inefficient designs, the standby power use can be as high as 15 or 20 watts. For a single appliance, this may not seem like much, but adding up the power use of the billions of appliances in the U.S., the power consumption of appliances that are supposedly “off” is significant. For example, it is estimated that all TV and VCR that are turned off cost Americans nearly a billion dollars a year in electricity.
weblink: US government page on standby power • from: Jeffrey Langholz • in detail XlnkS5A0 XlnkC18A9
You Can Prevent Global Warming
This remarkable manual written by Jeffrey Langholz and Kelly Turner provides 51 no-cost or low-cost tips to reduce GHG emission. According to the authors, if you follow the tips contained in this book, you will save US$2,000 and 25,000 pounds of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) per year. The book is extremely well-written and well-documented. Although it addresses things you can do at home and in your day-to-day live, it also a great source of innovative ideas for engineers and architects. For example, did you know that TVs and VCRs that are turned “off” still consume significant amount of electricity – to power LED’s, clocks and internal standby devices? As a result, all TVs and VCRs in the USA that are turned “off” cost Americans nearly one billion U$ a year in electricity?
• from: Jeffrey Langholz • in detail XlnkS59F XlnkC18A9