Home » Culture & Society » Social Issues » Other Social Issues

Home Energy Use

Ranked #4,468 in Culture & Society, #93,431 overall

Your Electronics and Power Consumption

An increasing number and variety of home electronics have made their way into our homes. These great gadgets bring us previously unimagined efficiency, access to entertainment and information, increased security, greater connectivity to friends and loved ones, and numerous other advantages.

Unfortunately, these devices are also responsible for increasing home energy use. In fact, they are guilty of guzzling millions of kilowatts of energy each day. Reducing this energy consumption can reduce pollution and save individual consumers hundreds of dollars per year. Find out how to measure and reduce you home energy use on this page.

Use the expandable Table of Contents below to find what you need on this page.

Measuring Power Consumption

What is Your Home Energy Use?

Everything from cable set top boxes and televisions to broadband modems and power adapters consume energy; even when devices are not in use.

Estimates vary, but some reports indicate that home electronics account for as much as 25% of all US residential home energy use.

Perhaps the first step in the process of dealing with the issue of electronics power consumption is to identify the items within your household that consume the most power. Reigning in the biggest offenders can make a significant difference.

Consumers can get a good estimate of the power consumption within their household by using standard calculations, making use of power meters, or taking advantage of some basic online tools.

Find Out More About Measuring Power Consumption

US Department of Energy
This page discusses how to estimate the home energy use of common household appliances and electronics items. Televisions, DVD players, personal computers, and such are included. Get out your calculator.
TIAX LLC Report
A detailed report regarding the energy consumption of common household consumer electronics.
My Green Electronics
A really quick way to calculate the home energy use of your electronics without using a meter, getting out a calculator, or testing your specific devices.

Need a Power Meter?

Loading

How To Save Energy At Home

Tips to Curb the Apetite of Your Electronics

Eliminating all of the home electronics in your house probably isn't feasible or desirable, so what can you do to reduce your home energy use?

Here are a few tips:

Purchase electronics that consume less energy.

  • An LCD screen consumes less energy than a traditional CRT or a plasma screen. This is true for computers as well as televisions. Some DLP TV models that are laser based will reportedly be released in 2008; these sets will use 1/2 the power of a similarly sized LCD. (Note: see link below describing recent Panasonic developments that may put plasma on a more level ground with LCD in the near future and one on laser based DLP TV.)
    • |
  • Look for the Energy Star label when making purchases.

  • Smaller means less power. A 32 inch television generally consumes less power than a 52" television.

  • Laptop computers use less power than desktop computers.

    Power off electronics when not in use and unplug if feasible; many electronics continue to use power when left plugged in.

    Obviously, users don't want to have to reprogram a device if it must have the time or other functions reprogrammed each time it's powered down, but in most instances, this is not a concern. Use of a power strip is a good idea, as several devices can be turned off at once by flipping a single swich and avoiding the need to dig around for the outlet.

    Use appropriate settings on display screens, especially the television.

    Avoid excessive brightness if the room lighting doesn't require it. YouTube has a demonstration by Philips of their simple settings adjustment here. If you plan on using a Test Pattern to help you here are some written instructions or without a test pattern try here.

    Make use of sleep mode, hibernate, or stand-by features when offered.

    Be sure to set such features to activate within 20 minutes so that the device reduces power consumption as appropriate. Again, it is still best to power off devices when not in use but stand by mode is a good safety measure for times when you might forget or plan to return within 15 or 20 minutes.

    • Books About Energy Conservation at Home

    Loading

    Get a Power Strip and Turn Things Off

    Loading

    Energy Saving Ideas on YouTube

    Loading

    Reducing Power Consumption: The Future

    Certainly, manufacturers are working to design home electronics that will consume less power and decrease the average home energy use.

    Alternative power sources from hydrogen fuel cells, body heat, and solar power among others are being phased in as new technologies such as OLED for lighting and display screens on televisions and computer monitors are being refined for reliability, affordability, and energy conservation.

    Read more to find out what the future holds.

    Reducing Home Energy Use: Future Developments

    CNET article
    A brief overview of ongoing efforts in the industry to make electronics which have lower home energy use.
    Physorg.com
    Learn about the future of using hydrogen fuel cells in cell phones
    Science Daily
    Learn about how we might capture wasted heat, and body heat, to power devices.
    Gizmodo article
    Solar powered laptop charger.
    Coolest-gadgets.com
    Find all kinds of solar gadgets.
    CBS News item
    A run down of a number of solar and hybrid devices.
    Gizmodo
    Learn about a fuel cell powered laptop.
    Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies
    Your own fuel cell generator?
    Panasonic
    Plasma TV's still consume a significant amount of energy, this article discusses, among other things, efforts in the last 3 or 4 years to change this.
    Newer Plasma Screens
    A short video from 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, mentions plasma screens that consume significantly less energy.
    CNET article
    How about a pocket sized wind power generator?
    EPA Standards Change
    The EPA announces increase in requirements for energy efficiency in TV displays to tame home energy use.
    Panasonic's More Energy Conscious Plamsa TV
    Panasonic announces they will be selling Plasma TVs with a 50% cut in energy consumption.
    Philips Eco TV
    Learn more about Philips Eco TV which drastically cuts the HDTV's power consumption.
    Yahoo!Tech
    A review of a solar powered MP3 player.
    Laser based DLP TV
    This Electronic House article describes the advantages of laser based TV and their energy savings.
    NY Times Article
    Learn about the potential of affordable home automation networks that can monitor electricity usage, report it to you, and provide tips on cutting back home energy use in real time.
    Panasonic's NEO Plasma Displays
    Learn about the new plasma displays from Panasonic that are said to consumer 50% less energy than earlier plasma TVs. (new in 2009)

    Saving Energy At Home: In a Nutshell

    Loading

    Curbing Home Energy Use

    Which of the suggestions below can you implement starting this month to have your electronics consume less energy?

    1

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Turning electronics OFF when not in use

    2 points

    2

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Program devices to go into "sleep mode" as quickly as possible

    2 points

    3

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Switch my Old CRT monitor out for an LCD

    1 point

    4

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Start using a power strip for all my computer or TV components

    1 point

    5

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Buy a Smaller TV

    0 points

    6

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Calibrate my TV settings and lower the brightness

    0 points

    7

    Vote Up
    Vote Down

    Replace some of my electronics with Energy Saver models

    0 points

    Electronics Power Consumption in the News

    ON Semiconductor Showcases Breakthrough Power Products for Reducing Energy ...
    ORLANDO, Fla., Feb 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) -- Booth 200 -- ON Semiconductor /quotes/zigman/84036/quotes/nls/onnn ONNN -0.92% , a premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for energy efficient ...
    ON Semiconductor Showcases Breakthrough Power Products For Reducing Energy ...
    By Business Wire 02/06/12 - 10:43 AM EST Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) ? Booth 200 ? ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ONNN), a premier supplier of high performance silicon solutions for energy efficient electronics, continues to develop ...
    Do Your Part: Green goes high tech
    There are also other intuitive devices to help you reduce your energy consumption at home. A power strip for sale by Belkin will shut down power going to a series of electronics by simply turning off one of the components. This is a great solution for ...
    Samsung Showcases 2012 Vision to Europe
    PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ? Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, showcased its diverse array of new products at the Samsung Forum 2012 in Europe. Embracing its new philosophy of ?Pushing ...
    Powered by Google

    Learn About Future Energy Saving Technologies for Electronics

    Loading

    Shop Energy Efficient Electronics

    DVD Players with Low Power Consumption

    Loading

    Need a Small TV with Low Power Consumption?

    Loading

    Want a Medium Size TV with Low Power Consumption?

    Loading

    Find a Large TV with Low Power Consumption

    Loading

    New Energy Saving Plasma TV

    Pansonic's NeoPDP displays reportedly use half the power.
    Loading

    Get More Tips for Energy Conservation from Igo

    Home Energy Use: Other ideas to reduce electronics power consumption?

    submit
    • Reply
      squidootime Apr 14, 2011 @ 6:29 am | delete
      Very relevant topic - energy prices continue to soar!

      Thanks
    • Reply
      murf707 Oct 3, 2010 @ 12:33 am | delete
      Run your Car/Truck on water with a Gas Conversion Kit!!! Save your self Thousands of dollars a year! http://www.hydrofuelcells.net
    • Reply
      murf707 Oct 3, 2010 @ 12:32 am | delete
      Run your Car/Truck on water with a Gas Conversion Kit!!! Save your self Thousands of dollars a year! http://www.hydrofuelcells.net
    • Reply
      ChessKnught Jul 2, 2010 @ 12:43 pm | delete
      Wow! I'm impressed, you've done your homework and put together some great tips.

      Another thing to consider is how you can share the energy/water you're saving with others in your community. District Energy Sharing solutions (low-temperature) are beginning to make their way into communities across the globe. The Whistler Athletes village (featured on the discovery channel recently), is a great example of just such an effort. It's not just about building up new communities with DES type systems, but more importantly retro-fitting existing communities with these capabilities. We need to urge our local municipal politicians to look into DES and other related technologies to help reduce community energy/water consumption.

      Seems like we have similiar goals, so I hope you'll consider stopping by to learn more about the E2O fifty community challenge to everyone from the grass roots to community officials and Government leaders to actively reduce energy and water consumption by over 50% within your communities.

      Please band with us and join the E2O fifty challenge, today.
    • Reply
      stacyfaye13 Jan 13, 2010 @ 2:52 pm | delete
      ANOTHER GREAT IDEA, I THINK, IS TO USE VINYL WINDOWS. THEY ARE KNOWN TO KEEP YOUR PLACE COOLER IN THE SUMMER AND WARMER IN THE WINTER, SO YOU USE YOUR AC AND HEATER LESS.
      vinyl window replacement seattle
    • Reply
      GreenSwitch for residential Jul 12, 2009 @ 11:12 am | delete
      There is a system thats been used in Europe for the last 8 years in hotels and is now available in the states called GreenSwitch. Available for demonstration just about everywhere, email michael@wealthcreationplus.com for more info or go to www.greenswitchteam.com
    • Reply
      MiaBellezza Feb 20, 2009 @ 3:27 am | delete
      We'll be getting a new TV soon also, so will refer back to this lens - thanks and 5*!
    • Reply
      kiwisoutback Feb 11, 2009 @ 1:06 pm | delete
      I need to get a new TV, especially one with a lower power consumption. I didn't even have that in mind when I purchased mine. It's one of those huge early HDTVs that weigh a couple hundred pounds. I can't wait to replace it. Lensrolling this to my home energy efficiency lens.
    • Reply
      PosterChildSmile Jan 29, 2009 @ 12:29 am | delete
      I'm always interested in ways to lower home energy use and I thank you for your helpful tips!!!
    • Reply
      jdac1999 Jan 21, 2009 @ 2:01 pm | delete
      Hi, very nice lens. I like the way you have taken electronic consumption and broken it out in many specific points. I'm totaly onboard with you on the standby power and put a lens on using a smart strip. The beauty is it does the thinking and you don't have the flip the switch - not always practical. I also have a lens on home energy saving tips if interested.
    • Load More
    Show All
    Introduction Photo Credit: tanakawho.
    Measuring Power Consumption Photo Credit: Micah Taylor.
    How to Save Energy at Home Photo Credit: ppdigital.
    Reducing Power Consumption Photo Credit: CPStorm.

    by

    mulberry

    I made this page to help consumers manage their home energy use by giving them tools to measure power use, select products for efficiency, and learn a... more »

    Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

    Explore related pages

    Related Tags