The myth of 'sleep mode'
Many electronic devices try to straddle the fence between saving electrify and staying convenient with "sleep" or "standby" mode -- a feature that essentially keeps the device dormant when you're not using it. This is the state your computer defaults to when you haven't shut it down, but also haven't used for awhile, and it's the reason there's a little LED light on so many of your gadgets -- even when they're turned "off."
This means your electronics jump to life more quickly when you want to use them, which is handy, but it's also a huge energy drain. Each device, in itself, only wastes a marginal amount of energy when it's not fully in use. However, when you multiply that wasted energy by the millions of gadgets on standby at any given time, the numbers start to get alarming.
To put this in context, by 2010, the Department of Energy expects that 20% of every American's electricity bill will go towards paying for this wasted energy.
So how can you stop it? Essentially, you can pull the plug. When you're done using the TV, coffee pot, or whatever else, either disconnect them from the socket, or turn off the power strip the device is plugged into. When it comes to your computer, just remember to turn it off at the end of the night -- or, as Brad suggested earlier this week, allow it to shut off automatically when not in use.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-05-2008 @ 7:19AM
Indy Fred said...
If I turn off my computer at night it doesn't get it's software updates, and it doesn't do it's maintenance. So when I turn it on again it takes forever to boot up. Message after message tell me what is not up-to-date, and then the computer is dragged down for 30 minutes catching up with everything. If I unplug other things, they lose the time and date. If I unplug my Dlp TV before it finishes its cool-down it damages the projector lamp.
Appliances have to be DESIGNED to use less power during standby.
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1-06-2008 @ 1:32PM
trainwreck said...
if you turn it on in the morning, go turn it on and do something for the few minutes it takes to update or upgrade the memory so it loads info faster when this happens and when youre using it regularly
1-05-2008 @ 9:53AM
The Lone Wulf said...
Another good point is that it isn't even the devices that are in standby mode that is the worst. What about the adaptors that people leave plugged into the wall, all day, everyday? Those don't only draw the electricity at all times, but, if I remember correctly, it draws its full load at all times because of the fact that it is an electrical transformer, and, without a switch or an actual disconnect, it never actually reduces its power consumption! Obviously it falls under the same idea of unplug it, but still, this is more of a power waste than, say, my xBox360 waiting for me to turn it on. A quick fix for that is to attach your adaptors to a power strip, and attach it to a wall timer. Sure, the timer will use some power, but not as much as, say, two cell phone chargers, two Bluetooth headset chargers, a Nintendo DS charger, and a 60W lamp that my wife NEVER shuts off.
Also, Indy Fred is right, appliances need to be designed to use less power, but I wonder how much less power my microwave can use when it's just keeping its clock ready?
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1-05-2008 @ 3:58PM
diana said...
The BUNN coffee maker is a huge energy waster, it keeps the water forever at serving temp in the reservoir.
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