Vampires among us

ILLUSTRATION BY ALYSSA CUMPTON/ THE ARBITER

These days, vampires are everywhere: books, TV shows, movies … microwaves?

Almost all home electronics that plug into an outlet are “energy vampires,” meaning even when they are not turned on, they constantly drain small amounts of electricity.

When considering how many of these energy vampires exist in the average household, it is easy to see that small amounts of electricity add up.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that as much as 10 percent of a household’s total energy use is wasted vampire energy.

Boise State’s energy vampires:

The Interactive Learning Center (ILC)  is a building where technology is king and every room is outfitted with gadgets any tech geek dreams of.

Each classroom includes a computer, DVD player, VCR, projector and several other electronics, all of which are constantly plugged in and draining energy. Most of them are even left on overnight.

The ILC’s 27 computers, 13 projectors, three big screen TVs and many other vampire electronics certainly add up.

According to measures provided in the DOE’s Standby Power Data Center, all of the electronics in the building that are never turned off waste an estimated 985 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in any given week.

Electricity is relatively cheap in Idaho; the statewide average is about six cents per kWh.

At this rate, the ILC alone could be wasting enough energy to unnecessarily cost the university nearly $3,000 per year.

Kaleb Saldana, a freshman computer science major, lives in Morrison Hall. His room is outfitted with a refrigerator, microwave, TV, XBOX and alarm clock, all of which remain plugged in at all times.

“I turn things off out of habit,” Saldana said. “They always stay plugged in though.”

Saldana also said his orientation at Morrison included no information about ways to conserve electricity.

In fact, the lights in Morrison’s bathrooms, hallways, and other common areas are left on at all hours, even in the middle of the night.

How to slay energy vampires:

No wooden stake needed. To the right, The Arbiter has provided a few simple ways you can reduce your energy waste, saving money and helping preserve natural resources that produce electricity:

* Unplug devices not in use. TVs are one of the biggest culprits, wasting nearly 1500 kWh of electricity in a year. Simply unplugging your TV when you aren’t using it saves all that power. The same goes for phone and computer chargers, microwaves, gaming consoles and radios.

* Use a power strip or surge protector. It can be a pain in the butt to unplug every electronic device you use every time you stop using it, so simply plug all of them into a power strip, and each time you leave the house, flip the switch off.

* Do a little research. The Standby Power Data Center is full of studies conducted by the DOE showing how much electricity certain electronics are capable of wasting. Find out what types are more energy efficient and opt for those instead.

Short URL: http://arbiteronline.com/?p=81243

Posted by christinamarfice on Feb 16 2012. Filed under News, Sub Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.