At Home & Work
Energy Star
Energy Star is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.
Energy Star |
Energy Use In The Home
The use of energy in the home is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from Australian households. The average household's energy use is responsible for about eight tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, per year. Many of these emissions can be abated through more efficient use of energy in our homes.
The other main contributors to household greenhouse emissions are transport and waste.
Choosing the most appropriate energy source can significantly reduce your energy bills and improve the environmental performance of your home. A choice of energy sources is available to new home buyers, existing owners and tenants.
Conventional electricity from the supply grid currently produces the largest amount of CO2 of any energy source per unit of energy used, except in Tasmania where hydro electric power is used.
Energy Use In The Home |
Phantom Loads- "Off" is a 3 Letter Word
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The term "off" can be a relative one. Over the past few years, there have been several scientific studies showing power is used by appliances that are turned "off." I decided to test some of the common appliances found in residences for myself.
To accomplish my mission, I constructed a testing device to meter energy demand (see "Making a Phantom Meter"). With this device, I started my energy crusade. Table 1 shows the appliances I metered while they were off, their projected yearly energy use, and an estimated yearly cost of energy, assuming that the appliances are plugged in but never used. Any usage would obviously make the costs higher. I have not attempted to compensate the values on the list for power factor, so these results are not exact. They do, however, provide a ballpark range for the devices I tested.
Clearly, no single one of these loads will break the household piggy bank. However, if we consider that there are hundreds of millions of most of these devices around, the size and number of power plants needed to produce the power to do essentially nothing is staggering.
Phantom Loads- "Off" is a 3 Letter Word |
What Are Phantom Loads?
Phantom loads are small constant loads in electronic devices that consume electricity, even when the device is turned "off" or not performing its principal function. Examples of phantom loads are the clocks in VCRs and microwave ovens, the small black wall cubes that adapt DC appliances to run on AC house current, and the instant-on features in televisions and home entertainment centers.These loads typically range from 1 to 10 Watts per appliance.
"Leaking electricity", "standby loads", "standby consumption" and "energy vampires" are other terms used to describe phantom loads. They contribute to significant amounts of energy consumption by drawing power out of sight and out of mind , 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This constant power draw adds up.
What Are Phantom Loads? |
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