Small ways to reduce home energy use

[509]

Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto

............................................
A TV plugged in but not watched, @ 15c/kW-hr, wastes $0.0015 per hour-- That's about 3.6c /d...I wonder how many Dunken Donuts it would take to supply the calories needed to keep walking over and plugging/unplugging the TV?

Theory is interesting, but it's reality that counts. Some things aren't worth worrying about.

Here is a different perspective on phantom loads.

I have a off-grid house.

I cannot afford ANY phantom load. Before I leave or retire for the night I make sure EVERYTHING electrical is TOTALLY OFF.

It really is amazing how much stuff is always on. Even my washer/dryer is always ON. I had to put those on a barrier strip!! Why does a washer/dryer need to be instant on???

Estimates are that 20 to 30 percent of the electrical load in this country are phantom loads. I have also heard that it takes the equivalent of 26 nuclear power plants to run the phantom loads in this country. Not sure if I believe the 26 nuclear power plants. I do believe the 20 to 30 percent.

Anyway here is more information: https://homeefficiencyguide.com/phantom-energy-guide/

My neighbor put in a 75,000 dollar solar system for his second home. He is a urban guy with all the latest toys and gadgets. The house is off-grid, so it has many energy savings features not found in typical homes, but also no TV or cellular reception in our area so those appliances don't exist in the home.

He called me and said it looked like his electrical system was no longer working and could I go over and check it out. It turns out that after a week of cloudy weather, he simply ran out of electricity. Even though, the huge solar bank was still generating some electricity on cloudy days, it just wasn't enough to keep up with all his phantom loads.

This is a very handy device for finding out what phantom loads cost you every month and for the year.

Kill A Watt Meter - Electricity Usage Monitor | P3

You can find it at hardware stores.

It was interesting in the days of real 60 watt bulbs the folks in California for a typical suburban house were paying 1,000 a year for keeping their outside lights on at night!!!

How much are you willing to pay a year to have the time displayed on your microwave??

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by 509

How much are you willing to pay a year to have the time displayed on your microwave??

I keep most "intermittent use" electrics on kill switches or strips so I don't have to plug/unplug them all the time. The only things that stay running are stove, refrigerator, one or two household clocks. I never leave the TV, router, computer, or other electronics plugged in or "on" unless they're in active use. The microwave that came with this house has the option to shut down the whole display, including the clock. It still maintains the time, so it is obviously still drawing some power, but doesn't use energy to display the time until you open the door.

Just had a new direct vent gas fired stove installed. It requires no electricity. It is controlled by a battery powered handset/thermocouple arrangement. Primary reason was to have heat during our frequent power failures. The previous direct vent furnace also used gas but it was dependent on power to run the electronics. Pretty useless multiple times per year.

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by 509

Here is a different perspective on phantom loads.

I have a off-grid house.

I cannot afford ANY phantom load. Before I leave or retire for the night I make sure EVERYTHING electrical is TOTALLY OFF.

It really is amazing how much stuff is always on. Even my washer/dryer is always ON. I had to put those on a barrier strip!! Why does a washer/dryer need to be instant on???

Estimates are that 20 to 30 percent of the electrical load in this country are phantom loads. I have also heard that it takes the equivalent of 26 nuclear power plants to run the phantom loads in this country. Not sure if I believe the 26 nuclear power plants. I do believe the 20 to 30 percent.

Anyway here is more information: https://homeefficiencyguide.com/phantom-energy-guide/

My neighbor put in a 75,000 dollar solar system for his second home. He is a urban guy with all the latest toys and gadgets. The house is off-grid, so it has many energy savings features not found in typical homes, but also no TV or cellular reception in our area so those appliances don't exist in the home.

He called me and said it looked like his electrical system was no longer working and could I go over and check it out. It turns out that after a week of cloudy weather, he simply ran out of electricity. Even though, the huge solar bank was still generating some electricity on cloudy days, it just wasn't enough to keep up with all his phantom loads.

This is a very handy device for finding out what phantom loads cost you every month and for the year.

Kill A Watt Meter - Electricity Usage Monitor | P3

You can find it at hardware stores.

It was interesting in the days of real 60 watt bulbs the folks in California for a typical suburban house were paying 1,000 a year for keeping their outside lights on at night!!!

How much are you willing to pay a year to have the time displayed on your microwave??

Good post...can't rep you again yet.

The fallacy in my previous post was that it only calculated for TVs. How many other large and small appliances do we each have that keep draining juice? It can add up fast.

I got one of those little emergency radios that can run on solar (not very well) or by hand cranking to charge the batteries....I was amazed to see how much more quickly the charge was run down just by playing it louder!

[victimofGM]

Originally Posted by 509

Here is a different perspective on phantom loads.

I have a off-grid house.

I cannot afford ANY phantom load. Before I leave or retire for the night I make sure EVERYTHING electrical is TOTALLY OFF.

It really is amazing how much stuff is always on. Even my washer/dryer is always ON. I had to put those on a barrier strip!! Why does a washer/dryer need to be instant on???

Estimates are that 20 to 30 percent of the electrical load in this country are phantom loads. I have also heard that it takes the equivalent of 26 nuclear power plants to run the phantom loads in this country. Not sure if I believe the 26 nuclear power plants. I do believe the 20 to 30 percent.

Anyway here is more information: https://homeefficiencyguide.com/phantom-energy-guide/

My neighbor put in a 75,000 dollar solar system for his second home. He is a urban guy with all the latest toys and gadgets. The house is off-grid, so it has many energy savings features not found in typical homes, but also no TV or cellular reception in our area so those appliances don't exist in the home.

He called me and said it looked like his electrical system was no longer working and could I go over and check it out. It turns out that after a week of cloudy weather, he simply ran out of electricity. Even though, the huge solar bank was still generating some electricity on cloudy days, it just wasn't enough to keep up with all his phantom loads.

This is a very handy device for finding out what phantom loads cost you every month and for the year.

Kill A Watt Meter - Electricity Usage Monitor | P3

You can find it at hardware stores.

It was interesting in the days of real 60 watt bulbs the folks in California for a typical suburban house were paying 1,000 a year for keeping their outside lights on at night!!!

How much are you willing to pay a year to have the time displayed on your microwave??

I considered these items in my home but I have a wife who is always home for health reasons. Before the age of 50 she already had 3 spinal surgeries and both knees replaced. We paper trained our dog because the last time she walked our chihuahua, my wife fell and needed help to get back up again. Reaching behind furniture to turn off a power strip or plug in a power cord would be too dangerous for my wife and I work rotating shifts at the hospital.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by victimofGM

Reaching behind furniture to turn off a power strip or plug in a power cord would be too dangerous for my wife and I work rotating shifts at the hospital.

You can buy short, grounded, quality extension cords to plug into those wall outlets and position the kill switches where they're easier for her to reach.