Question about power strips and energy consumption

BigPopov

BigPopov

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So we're looking to reduce our electricity bill (isn't everybody.) Of course the first thing I wanted to do was to get in the habit of unplugging things.

If I purchased a surge protector for an outlet, even a cheapo one, does flipping the switch off on the strip achieve the same results as physically unplugging the unit?

I realize there should be some extremely small power still being used, since most strips have a lighted indicator. I'd like to achieve, let's say, cutting the Xbox and cable box (not DVR) from consuming any power while I'm not home.

Physically unplugging the units is not really going to work too well due to the idiot nature of some people in the house, it's going to be alot easier to teach how to flip off a switch if that works fine.

Thanks.
 
Except for those protectors that have a light, yes. You effectively break the circuit when you flip the switch off.

You'd be surprised at how much idle electronics can run up your bill. Leaving my PC on overnight was costing me about $1 a day or so. I recommend getting a kill-a-watt device and checking out the cost of everything in your home.
 
[quote name='2DMention']I leave everything on, but probably shouldn't. I like to leave it on for convenience.[/QUOTE]

I used to do this until I borrowed a kill-a-watt. Just by flipping off my computers and a few other surge strips, I've lowered my bill by about $30 on average each month.
 
I would suggest doing that instead of unplugging.

I'm one of the people who believes however every time you turn off the standby power you're chancing it completely breaking down the next time you turn the power on.
Therefore I'm not worried about unplugging my toaster, which is old and has no circuits, but am about anything else with a circuit board. I even think they encourage people to do this because of what I said above. They're hoping your product craps out and you have to buy a new one.
 
You guys ever heard of Viridian? Some electric company that claims they can cut down the bill by like 30% or something. They got it posted at work and it gets screened through HR or whatever but I'm still skeptical. Google results are a bit iffy, too.
 
I don't know if it was Viridian but I recently got a flyer in my mail that was, to the effect of, them installing a solar panel on your house at no cost and it would reduce your electric bill by like 10 or 20 percent. I assume they sell xx amount of the energy gathered to the electric company and give you a cut in exchange for no up front costs.

Interesting concept. Wish my roommate hadn't thrown it away.
 
Standby doesn't use any significant energy, like 12 cents a month. Not worth the chance of a circuit break.

Lower your computer's brightness to a comfortable level where you don't strain your eyes, you'll save a lot there and don't use screen savers, just use the "display off" option after x minutes.

I still recommend a surge protector to stop any unnecessary voltage to high-end electronics.
 
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[quote name='BigPopov']I like to leave it on too but we didn't like our electric bill.[/QUOTE]

those things are probably using up very little energy. Wont make a difference on your bill
 
[quote name='Necrozilla']Standby doesn't use any significant energy, like 12 cents a month. Not worth the chance of a circuit break.

Lower your computer's brightness to a comfortable level where you don't strain your eyes, you'll save a lot there and don't use screen savers, just use the "display off" option after x minutes.

I still recommend a surge protector to stop any unnecessary voltage to high-end electronics.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='62t']those things are probably using up very little energy. Wont make a difference on your bill[/QUOTE]

Have either of you actually done the research? I'm guessing not. I've tested every device plugged in to the wall in my house and many of them draw power, even on standby. The Comcast cable box costs about $0.30 per day, just to be plugged in on standby. Each of my surge protectors for the home theater costs anywhere from $1 per day at idle, up to $3/hr at peak use. My computer costs about $0.30/day at idle, and up to $1/hr at maximum use (gaming, for example).

It all adds up.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']Have either of you actually done the research? I'm guessing not. I've tested every device plugged in to the wall in my house and many of them draw power, even on standby. The Comcast cable box costs about $0.30 per day, just to be plugged in on standby. Each of my surge protectors for the home theater costs anywhere from $1 per day at idle, up to $3/hr at peak use. My computer costs about $0.30/day at idle, and up to $1/hr at maximum use (gaming, for example).

It all adds up.[/QUOTE]
Typical standby rates are:

Consoles use .01 Wh = $.000024/day
Laptops use .2 Wh = $.00048/day
TVs use .15 Wh = $.00036/day
*at $.10 per kWh

Cable boxes stay on even if the TV is off, that's why you get $.30 a day. Lord knows what home theater Wh standby rates are (not sure if you're measuring wrong because that looks high still - what's your kWh rate?).
 
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[quote name='mtxbass1']Have either of you actually done the research? I'm guessing not. I've tested every device plugged in to the wall in my house and many of them draw power, even on standby. The Comcast cable box costs about $0.30 per day, just to be plugged in on standby. Each of my surge protectors for the home theater costs anywhere from $1 per day at idle, up to $3/hr at peak use. My computer costs about $0.30/day at idle, and up to $1/hr at maximum use (gaming, for example).

It all adds up.[/QUOTE]
First, lets define standby as in "off", plugged in and ready to use.

Typical standby rates are: http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-4.htm (2007 console models)
PS3 = 1.9 W/hr = $.00456/day
Xbox 360 = 2.5 W/hr = $.006/day
Wii = 1.3 W/hr (9.6 W/hr Connect24 On) = $.00312/day
TVs = about 8 W/hr = $.0192/day
Laptops = about 3 W/hr = $.0072/day
*$.1 kW/hr rate

So yeah, my 12 cents a month is probably only good for the Wii, but still it's less than $2/month for my Xbox 360, TV, and laptop in standby 24/7 (I don't understand how you get $1/day). I make it up by eating in the dark. :p
 
[quote name='Necrozilla']First, lets define standby as in "off", plugged in and ready to use.

Typical standby rates are: http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-356-4.htm (2007 console models)
PS3 = 1.9 W/hr = $.00456/day
Xbox 360 = 2.5 W/hr = $.006/day
Wii = 1.3 W/hr (9.6 W/hr Connect24 On) = $.00312/day
TVs = about 8 W/hr = $.0192/day
Laptops = about 3 W/hr = $.0072/day
*$.1 kW/hr rate

So yeah, my 12 cents a month is probably only good for the Wii, but still it's less than $2/month for my Xbox 360, TV, and laptop in standby 24/7 (I don't understand how you get $1/day). I make it up by eating in the dark. :p[/QUOTE]

I have a laptop sitting right here with a kill-a-watt plugged in to it. It is in standby. It is drawing 40 watts of power, per hour. There are 24 hours in a day. That's .96kW/h used per day, in standby. Each kW/h costs me approximately 18 cents after you include tax and a nuclear fee they've tacked on. That means this single laptop costs me nearly $5.19 just to be plugged in, on "standby" for the entire month.

Multiply this by the number of idle devices in your house and tell me it doesn't add up. You can quote statistics from 2007 all you like, but I can tell you right here right now with the devices I'm using to measure my usage, that not everything is as simple or as "cheap" as you make it seem. Where are you pulling your TV or Laptop numbers from, and where are you living that your kw/hr rate is only 10 cents? Does that include taxes and any other fees? I'm guessing not.
 
Standby =/= Idle

I Googled average kW/hr US rate ($.08, so I played it safe with $.10) and average standby watts for TV and laptops. But even I know there's no way a laptop is using 40 watts in standby (is it charging?).

Electric bills are filled with fees, the nuclear fee should not be included in your kW/hr rate (and taxes too which are totaled at the end which includes all fees) - might as well include the delivery fee while you're at it. Why do you even have a watt meter? Did it come with a manual?

FYI: My kW/hr rate is $.044
 
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No bills are enjoyable to pay, including the power bill. The experience became even worse during 2010, as the average electric bill increased. Increasingly more people end up requiring payday loans for the unpredicted price boost. https://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2011/12/13/household-electricity-bill/

The USA Today analyzed the data released by government agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and it was found out that annual energy costs increased above the rate of inflation from 2005 to 2010. The annual cost of power in 2010 was $1,419 per year, a new record-high. This would really affect our budget if we do not know how to properly save energy.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']I have a laptop sitting right here with a kill-a-watt plugged in to it. It is in standby. It is drawing 40 watts of power, per hour. [/QUOTE]

This sounds high...

7. Do power management features save
energy on notebook computers, too?
While they use less energy than desktops,
notebook computers still burn about 20– 30
watts of power. System standby and hibernate
features reduce notebook power draw to 1–2
watts, so the energy savings are still very
significant.
Click to expand...

Seriously, you're doing something wrong if your laptop in standby mode is drawing the same power as an active laptop.

BTW, most charger cables draw about 0.5~2 watts when not in use, if you think that's significant enough to do anything about. Even at the high end of that, and $0.10 cents a KWh, that's only $0.14 a month.

Go for the meaty stuff. Don't use a DVR (draws about as much as a PC), disable instant on features in your TV, and set your thermostat better.
 
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If you set your PC to go into sleep mode after a few minutes of inactivity, then you've done everything you can do in regard to saving money on your electric bill there.

The low hanging fruit is air conditioning, and superfluous items like jacuzzis. Your fridge is the next big item but probably costs less to operate per month than your World of WarCraft account. Unplugging the PS3 while it's off would save, what, 20-30 cents per month compared to leaving it in standby mode?

There are definitely more fruitful areas in which to cut expenditures in your life.
 
changing lights have one of the biggest easy impacts you can make. Dropping from 60-100 watts down to 10-20 is a huge measurable change. Things like that are easy since they really dont impact your day to day life. Unplugging things can however. Even a simple task like unplugging the unit can get to be a chore.
I tend to put whole rooms on strips if i can. My older gaming system room is 100% on a single strip. its got an ps2 and old xbox on it along with an older wega tv and some old nes and sega systems. At idle it pulls about 10 watts an hour/ 240 a day/ 7200 approx a month. My current rate is around $.15 kw/h but can go up and down abit s my usage changes but thats average. So to leave that room on the grid costs me a dollar a month. Not much in the grand scheme of things but it does add up.
My old plasma used to draw nearly 500 w/hr. It recently died so i got a new energystar one that uses less than half that. Should make a noticable difference on my bill given the amount i use it.
My computer sits in standyby 24 hrs/day. it uses very little while idle and is ok while running. It uses less power than my 360 running. That 360 is now my most heavy power user to. Playing games itll run at 300+watts an hour. I beileve the slim ones are better but not much id guess.
 
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