Ethical Consumption, Talk about the good work of consumers who make choices based on the sustainability of supply chains, along with the companies that respond to these ethical demands.

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Is Your House Haunted By Phantom Electricity?

Caitlin Chock | Friday 23rd October 2009

It is the time of the year when the spooks and goblins are busily toiling away and creating mischief at night, but there may be a phantom lurking in your own home without you even knowing it. Phantom energy that is!
Phantom energy loss is the amount of electricity being used even when the lights, appliances, and other devices may be turned off, but are still plugged into an outlet. This type of consumer consumption may seem like a negligible amount, as you ask yourself, "how much energy can really be used by simply having my TV, DVD, and cellphone charger plugged in when they aren't in use?" Well, for an average home it may work out to only be about 5% of their total usage, but apply that on a national level and it comes out to roughly 65 billion kilowatt-hours of annual electrical use.

Okay, okay, so you are probably thinking, "yea, this is basically wasted energy, but do you really expect me to
plug in and unplug my TV every time I turn it on or off?" Well, in an ideal world yes, but let's be realistic,
for many households that's a tall order, and for safety reasons we wouldn't want young kids to be messing around
with electrical plugs and outlets. But that's not an excuse, there are still ways to cut down on that phantom
energy loss currently going on right under your nose. First, let's identify the biggest offenders of zapping
energy all day: they are the adapters for your cellphone charger, TV's and computers will a standby option,
digital clocks (including the ones on the microwave or stove), stereos, power tools, and of course our iPod
chargers that are inserted into the wall outlet.

The thing is, many of these things we wouldn't even think of as energy consumers, I know some of them come as a
surprise to me, but anything that has a light on or display illuminated when the device isn't being used is
guilty. To cut down on this wasted energy, you don't have to meticulously plug and unplug every electronic in
your house, but instead you can group the plugs and stick them into a shared power strip, which you can then turn
on or off as need be. This takes out some of the nuisance of dozens of plugs to keep track of, and also makes it
safer for young ones to simply push a button rather than be reaching into an outlet! Then, there are the little
things such as chargers for all of the many different devices we use. You don't need to let your cellphone
charger's cord be left plugged in all the time, pull it out when it's not actually doing it's job. Same thing
with digital camera adapters and video camera chargers; it may take an extra second or two, but it's worth the
'added' effort.

Finally, before you purchase an item, read the tiny little writing on that label, and see how much power the item
uses on standby. I'm sure you've seen all the commercials for Energy Star-labeled washers, dryers,
refrigerators, and the works; even if you completely tune out during the commercial breaks in your favorite
shows, there is at least some positive messages being pumped out between product spiels. Take advantage of the
newer, less energy expendable units and devices, and buy those. You can go online to the US Department of
Energy, and find a full listing of the manufacturers of these items.

Cutting down on the amount of energy from consumer consumption, particularly from sources that aren't providing us with anything at the time, is a relatively easy practice to instill. It will actually save you a bit of money on your electricity bill (who doesn't like that!), but in doing so you can also do your part in limiting the over
87 billion pounds of carbon dioxide released each year due to these phantom sources in the US alone. (That's not
even counting the rest of the world people...talk about BOO!) So, help your family to remember to keep their
chargers unplugged when not in use along with the other ideas mentioned above. Yes, changing your habits is
hard, so start with one appliance a day, and add another the next...and I'll be doing the same. Feel free to
brag about all the phantoms you've expelled from your house, and leave a comment of what you've done to cut down your energy usage!

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