The report, "Home Idle Load: Devices Wasting Huge Amounts of Electricity When Not in Active Use,"
found most of the devices either plugged in or hard-wired into
America's homes consume electricity around-the-clock, even when the
owners are not using them or think they are turned off. The annual cost
for this vampire energy drain, which provides little benefit to
consumers, ranges from $165 per U.S. household on average to as high as
$440 under some utilities' top-tier rates.
These always-on but inactive
devices account for nearly 23 percent, on average, of the electricity
consumption of homes in California - where electricity usage tends to be
lower overall due in part to decades of energy efficiency success - but
the share will vary in other states, depending on total electricity
use. However, the amount of inactive consumption by household devices
can be applied nationally as Americans tend to buy the same appliances
everywhere.
The NRDC study is the first large-scale analysis of idle load use,
combining usage data from electric utility smart meters in 70,000
northern California residences with field measurements concentrating on
idle loads (an average of 65 devices were found in NRDC's onsite audit).
Idle consumption includes devices in off or "standby" mode but still
drawing power (such as furnaces and garage door openers); in "sleep
mode" ready to power up quickly (like game consoles); and left fully on
but inactive (computers).
In fact, if all households in
the United States reduced their idle load to the level that a quarter of
the homes in NRDC's study already achieve, they would save $8 billion
on their annual utility bills; avoid 64 billion kilowatt-hours of
electricity use per year; and prevent 44 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide pollution, or 4.6 percent of U.S. residential sector carbon
dioxide emissions from electricity generation.
Other key findings:
- The average always-on, but inactive consumption across the 70,000 California homes was 164 watts, the same as brewing 234 cups of coffee every day for a year (more than 85,000)!
- Among the average of 65 electrical devices found during an in-depth audit of 10 sample residences, about two-thirds drew more than 1 watt of power each in the always-on mode.
- The traditional large electricity uses (heating and cooling, lighting, and refrigeration) accounted for just 15 percent of always-on consumption. Consumer electronics (televisions, computers, printers, game consoles, etc.) accounted for 51 percent, and other miscellaneous electrical load (MEL) items--such as recirculation pumps, fishponds, aquariums, and protected outlets in bathrooms, kitchens, and garages--comprised the remaining 34 percent.
- Idle load varied widely, depending on device models. For instance, the idle load of printers ranged from 2 to 26 watts per home, and cordless phones from 1 to 12 watts.
- There was little relationship between the vampire load and the age of the home, and a limited correlation to the number of occupants and size of the home - areas ripe for additional study.
The report also includes a list
of 10 common devices with the cost of their worst-case "always-on"
loads found in NRDC's onsite audit and solutions to reduce their annual
energy bill cost (rounded to nearest whole dollar). They are: water
recirculation pump, up to $93; desktop computer, up to $49; TV, up to
$38; cable set-top box, up to $30; audio receiver/stereo, up to $22;
printer, up to $11; furnace, up to $8; coffee maker, up to $6; dryer, up
to $4; and GFCI outlets, $1 each.
Along with providing an Action Guide, NRDC has posted directions and a
downloadable form to enable consumers to estimate the idle electricity
consumption in their homes at http://www.nrdc.org/energy/files/home-idle-load-action-guide.pdf. Delforge's blog can be found at http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/pdelforge/always-on_devices_may_cost_ame.html. The study is available at www.nrdc.org/energy/home-idle-load.asp.
Press contact: Alex Frank, 703-276-3264, afrank@hastingsgroup.com; Pat Remick, 202-289-2411, premick@nrdc.org or Jacob Eisenberg, 202-289-2381, jeisenberg@nrdc.org
The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit
environmental organization with more than 1.4 million members and online
activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental
specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources,
public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City,
Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and
Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
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