Looking to Cut Your Power Bill? Beware the Phantom Power-Menace
It’s started. The first heating bill of winter has arrived and, as expected, it’s much higher than it was last year. With these increasing costs, my mind is turning to ways to conserve energy (and money!) around the house.
Tyler Hamilton’s “Beware the phantom-power menace” has opened my eyes to those unseen ways that power gets sucked right out of electrical sockets. With all the gadgets that a lot of people have received over the holidays, this article is right on the dot. I’ve never given these energy-eaters much thought, until now.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that home electronics alone account for 15 per cent to 20 per cent of household electricity use, more than three times as much as 25 years ago.
Surprisingly, a major portion of that electricity goes toward phantom loads. For example, NRCan estimates more than 75 per cent of power going toward your satellite dish, digital cable receiver, or DVD player is consumed in standby mode during the lifetime of the product. All home electronics products taken together, the average is 27 per cent, expected to rise to 44 per cent in five years.
Time to change those cellphone-charging habits. Want to know more? Read it here.
[Source: Toronto Star]
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POSTED IN: Frugal Living
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