One easy step
One easy step: Simple ways to use less energy, spend less money, and reduce your carbon footprint
Need new appliances? Buy energy-efficient models
Save Money by Reducing Phantom Load
Phantom load also known as standby power is the electricity used by appliances and electronic devices when they are off or in standby mode. Many, but not all, electronics have a phantom load. Home entertainment devices with remote controls, appliances with digital clocks, electronics that use a power adaptor (or wall cube) and computer printers and fax machines are notorious phantom loads.
While the electricity consumed by the devices is relatively small, given that they are on 24 hours a day and most homes have many such devices, the total electricity used to power these electronics is substantial. It is estimated 5 to 10 percent of a typical household's monthly electric bill goes to standby power and this is probably a conservative figure. The standby power consumed by all US households requires the electricity generation of 17 power plants!
What can you do? First, look around your home at night for the glow of LED lights. If feasible put these devices on powers strips that can be turned off. (Items with clocks you rely on may not be feasible, but “smart” power strips that cost a bit more will allow some devices to remain on while others can be shut off.) Many of us already have power strips in our homes such as behind our televisions. Move them out to where you can easily reach them and turn them off when not in use, like overnight. If you don’t yet have any power strips the cost of electricity saved would recover the cost by rather quickly. (Look for those that are Underwriters Laboratory (UL) approved.)
Next, look around for power adaptors or wall cubes; many times they are warm to the touch, more evidence or phantom load. Unplug these when not in use like cell phone chargers or hair dryers. Consider what items that may have phantom loads can just be unplugged until they are needed. Like a television in a spare room.
Once you have taken those steps you may want to actually measure the energy that your household items consume. There are electronic meters that can be borrowed or purchased that will help you, but more on that next time.
Borrow a Watt Meter and Measure Household Energy Use
If you learn the amount of energy a houshold item uses and mulitply the cost over a month, it adds up to significant dollars.
A watt meter is an electronic instrument that measures the energy used by many of our household appliances and electronic devices. Some local libraries and some town energy committees now loan out these household energy meters which plug in, are simple to use, and can help you figure out how to save money. (Plug-in type of watt meters such as “The Energy Detective” and the “Kill A Watt”) can be purchased online for about $30.00. They calculate how much energy is used by an appliance and translate this into a dollar figure.
If you know the wattage of an appliance, you can estimate how much electricity it uses and what it costs you. Then decide if it needs to stay plugged in all the time, can be unplugged, or plugged into a power strip. Some of the items you’ll want to measure:
- Coffee maker
- Cell phone and other chargers
- Hair dryer
- Table lamps
- TV, video game player, stereo, and other electronic equipment
- Computer and other office equipment
- Portable space heater
- Room air conditioner
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Humidifier
- Vacuum cleaner
Large appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, clothes dryers, and dehumidifiers, consume a lot of energy. Generally speaking, it may pay to replace a refrigerator, freezer, or dehumidifier if it’s 10 years or older. (For best results, use a watt meter to measure electricity use). A refrigerator built in the 1990’s can consume twice the electricity of a new ENERGY STAR refrigerator.
Refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers, dehumidifiers (and more than 60 other small appliances) are available with the ENERGY STAR designation. An ENERGY STAR product is more energy efficient than its non-ENERGY STAR counterpart. Although the required reduction in energy use varies according to product type, average energy savings are in the range 20 to 30 percent.
Rebates are available for many ENERGY STAR products, usually coordinated through your utility. There are no ENERGY STAR clothes dryers (apart from a clothesline!), although an energy efficient washer generally spins at a higher RPM and therefore less drying is required.
Each degree you lower the thermostat can save three percent on your space- heating costs.
Start by lowering the thermostat a couple of degrees at night (throw an extra blanket on the bed), or when you leave for the day. It is a myth that it will take more energy to reheat the space (unless you have radiant-floor heating).
To save even more money install a programmable thermostat. “It remembers” to turn the heat up or down even when you forget. You can buy one for as little as $30.00, and the energy you save will quickly make up for the cost.
Water heating is usually the second biggest energy user in the home, just after space heating. A typical American uses 60 gallons of water a day, which includes 17 gallons are hot water. Residential water heaters consume about 21 percent of the average home's total energy use. There are many simple and easy ways to reduce hot water use.
- Lower your water-heater thermostat to 120ºF. Every 10 degrees saves three percent to five percent in hot-water energy costs.
- If you have a water heater separate from your furnace wrap the hot water tank with an insulation jacket (made especially for water heaters) to reduce the heat loss.
- Insulate the hot water pipes with foam tubing to further reduce heat loss
- If your hot water heater is separate from your home heating system, when you are away for a period of time you can shut the hot water heater off, just make sure you aren’t shutting down your home heating system too, especially this time of year.
- Wash clothes in cold water (about 80 percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heat the hot water).
- Only run the dishwasher when it is full, but surprisingly most dishwashers uses less hot water than if you hand wash the dishes!
- Use low-flow shower heads (no more than 1.5 gallons per minute flow rate) and limiting the length of showers.
After reducing your hot water use, consider a solar hot-water system. Solar hot water systems have a relatively short payback period (on the order of 4-6 years) and can provide about 70 percent of annual hot water needs.
