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A combination or a power outage and an extremely high electric bill prompted some recent thoughts that lead me to this post. My family must be one of the worst offenders when it comes to power usage through devices that really aren't ever turned off -- sometimes called vampire power. I realized that when our power went out last week and I went digging for the latest bill. Sitting in the dark gave me a bit of time to think about the situation. Consumers can help but designers will have to find more ways to cut power usage.
Southern California suffered another round of wild fires last week and many homes were without power for a good reason. Luckily for us, knock on wood, the fires weren't near our home so far this year. So it was a complete surprise when out power went out one afternoon. We had flashlights and candles on hand and conveniently plenty of daylight to prepare. And SDG&E initially promised a repair around nightfall. Alas complications kept the house dark all night. My wife and son played Scrabble by the light of a battery-powered lantern. I didn't have a sufficient light to make my nightly attempt to catch up on reading trade and business journals so I stewed about the bill I had gotten a look at in retrieving the power company phone number.
I've long understood how much power devices that apparently are off can still waste. Moreover, companies like Power Integration have been on a campaign to spread that word for several years. Every time I meet with someone and discuss vampire power, I return home and go on a short crusade to unplug power wasters such as cell phone chargers, power tool chargers, MP3 player docking stations, and other wasters. Here's a blog post from a consumer site that details the many offenders.
I'm afraid my family is indicative of the general public. We take one step forward and two steps back. I no longer allow a desktop computer to be left running 24/7, although I do leave my laptop on. I bought a new low-power printer/copier/fax and even try to remember to power it off at the power strip -- there is no other way to remove power. If it stays on I still calculate that it uses $30 per month. But we continue to add rechargeable battery-powered devices such as the recent addition of a weed whacker and leaf blower. The battery powered devices are extremely convenient for a small California lawn, but the things must stay charged to be useful.
It's a bad time to be a power waster with the inevitable shortages and pollution problems, and the tough economic times. Once again we pledge to try and do better. But convenience makes it tough to actually remove power from the TVs in the house. Even the under-counter radio in the kitchen is really on when it looks to be off.
What's my message? Designers that can find even more ways to reduce passive power use will both be rewarded with successful products and should be recognized and celebrated for their efforts. Innovation opportunities exist everywhere from more-efficient wall warts to better power-management schemes in consumer products. Of course there are also power-saving mandates being pushed by governments around the world. Here's list from the Power Integrations web site.
Gotta go now. I just remembered I need to unplug my Slingbox. It's been sitting powered on but unused since I returned from a trip two weeks ago.
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