Consumer electronics play an increasingly larger role in your home’s energy consumption, accounting for as much as 15 percent of household electricity use. While most of us know how much power electronics can draw while being used, it’s important to note how much power electronics draw even when not being used. New features like voice control, gesture recognition, connectivity, wireless controllers and the ability to stream live all draw electricity.
Here are some helpful energy-saving tips from Kissimmee Utility Authority:
Gaming consoles: Don’t let your game console come between you and your cable. For the best efficiency choice, plug your set-top box cable directly into the first HDMI port on your TV and connect the Xbox to a secondary HDMI port on your TV. Plugging your set-top box into your Xbox requires the Xbox to consume power even when you are not gaming-almost as much power as your TV.
TVs, Stereos and Appliances: The simplest way to conserve energy while electronics aren’t being used is to simply unplug them. While they may be off, most home electronics and appliances, like coffee makers and toasters, use electricity even when turned off. Some of the biggest offenders are chargers that continuously draw power. A good way to test to see if it’s wasting money is by checking to see if it’s warm.
Cell phones: Any charger that is plugged into the wall, and not switched off at the socket, will still use some electricity, even if it’s not plugged into the device it is meant to charge. This is because every charger contains a transformer – the big rectangular lump that makes a charger bigger than an ordinary plug and cable. This transformer is still connected even if the phone isn’t, and so the transformer carries on drawing a small amount of power.
Power strips: Use a power strip as a central point when you are done using equipment. If you happen to have a few devices connected to one power strip, you can save energy on those devices by switching the power strip off or unplugging it.