VW’s Golf Diesel Hybrid Debuts. Tell Us Why You Love It
By Chuck Squatriglia March 5, 2008 | 10:39 am | Categories: Car Shows, EVs and Hybrids
Volkswagen made it official and pulled the sheet off its awesome Golf TDI Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show, and even though we’ve already given you the lowdown on the car and shown you some pictures, we’ll give you the official word from VW because it’s clear you all love this car.
As expected, the hybrid has a 1.2 liter three-cylinder diesel engine and a 220V electric motor. The electric motor gets the car moving at low speeds, with the 73 horsepower diesel kicking in only when extra oomph is needed (or wanted) and when cruising at highway speeds. The car also can run either in full-electric or full internal combustion mode, according to VW. Power is transferred through a seven-speed DSG transmission to the front wheels. The car also has start/stop capability and regenerative braking.
Subtle styling tweaks, including a narrower grille and smaller front air intakes, improve aerodynamics. VW says the Golf TDI Hybrid consumes 3.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, which by our math is 71.4 mpg. That’s a tad higher than the 69.9 cited in earlier reports, but either figure beats the gas-electric Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid by better than 20 mpg.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Wired magazine- Vegawatt
Would you like power with those fries?
A new garage-engineered generator burns the waste oil from restaurants’ deep fryers to generate electricity and hot water. Put 80 gallons of grease into the Vegawatt each week, and its creators promise it will generate about 5 kilowatts of power.
That’s about 10 percent of the total energy needs of Finz, a seafood restaurant in Dedham, Massachusetts, where the first Vegawatt is being tested. At New England electricity rates, the system offsets about $2.50 worth of electricity with each gallon of waste oil poured into it.
Vegawatt’s founder and inventor, James Peret, estimates that restaurants purchasing the $22,000 machine will save about $1,000 per month in electricity costs, for a payback time of two years.
"You take this waste resource and make it a profit center," said Peret, who spent four long years cooking up the project in his garage. "When I started telling people, they said, ‘Someone’s gotta have done this.’ I’d run into more people. They’d say, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this?’ My only response was, ‘I don’t know; it seems like a good idea.’"
While Vegawatt is a small solution, Peret’s invention is a very clever embodiment of several long-cherished alternative-energy ideas: capturing both the heat and power from fuel combustion, making energy where it’s used, and recycling used resources. Big industrial plants that make paper, for example, have long taken advantage of these concepts to save on their utility bills, but the Vegawatt will be the first product that could turn thousands of fast food restaurants into mini power plants.
"Now the restaurant owners are going to be motivated to put every single drop of waste oil into this thing, because it will pay for itself," Peret said.
And importantly, it provides convenience for restaurateurs or Burger
King managers, instead of subtracting it, like so many green solutions seem to.
Restaurants that fry delicious things like chicken and french fries generate dozens of gallons of waste oil that have to be stored in barrels out back. Because used cooking oil is considered a low-grade hazardous material, they haven’t been allowed to just throw it away; they generally had to pay rendering-plant operators to come. But it is now a sellers’ market for grease.
Higher crude prices have made other types of oil more expensive. Biodiesel makers and renderers have become increasingly willing to pay up to 40 cents a gallon for the stuff. There have even been reports of "biodiesel pirates" stealing fryer grease.
In fact, Vegawatt is derived from the home-brew fuel movement that many trace back to Dr. Thomas Reed, who popularized a recipe to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel more than 20 years ago. Peret converted his truck to run on straight vegetable oil, or SVO to home brewers. But he was troubled by the inefficiency of the process.
"If you want to run waste vegetable oil in your car, it’s not as simple as going behind a restaurant and filling up," Peret said. "People that do this spend the majority of their free time collecting fuel from restaurants."
Peret realized he could use the same engine technology to power an on-site generator and defray a restaurant’s electricity costs.
"It’s not difficult to go from spinning tires to spinning magnets," he said
So he created a test unit — which you can see at the back of his garage in the top photo — that’s basically a diesel generator hacked to run waste cooking oil. It feeds power directly into the restaurant’s electrical system through a 30 amp hook-in.
Vegawatt is more efficient than a typical coal or natural gas plant. Peret said it can capture 70 percent of the fuel’s caloric value. That’s because the generator captures and uses the waste heat it generates.
"All the water [the restaurant] would send to its boiler, instead of sending it straight there from the city, we run it through our heat exchanger first," Peret said. "Depending on the flow, [the water] can go into the hot water heater at 120 degrees." (This non-electrical energy savings is included in the 5-kilowatt rating cited above.)
The big power plants, though technically very efficient, waste most of the fuel they burn. After accounting for all the sources of energy waste "what you are left with … is just 27.6 units of usable energy out of every 100 units you started with," energy researcher Benjamin Sovacool explained in his recent book, The Dirty Energy Dilemma. "In terms of making toast, it would have been nearly four times more efficient just to burn a lump of coal and place your bread over the flame."
Biomass energy sources — like waste wood, switchgrass or cooking oil — are best when used right near the source of their creation. Dragging the stuff creates more emissions and raises the cost of the fuel. Vegawatt doesn’t have that problem. By company estimates, the Vegawatt generates 50 percent less carbon dioxide than a comparable amount of electricity from a coal power plant.
"In terms of the amount of energy that it takes to transport this waste, it’s a french fry," Peret said. "You just feed the guy who is picking up the bucket and pouring it into the system."
Forest Gregg, an alternative-fuels expert and author of last year’s SVO: Powering Your Vehicle with Straight Vegetble Oil, called it a "nifty application and a great business idea."
Gregg also drew attention to a strong part of Vegawatt’s pitch: that it won’t require "intervention or maintenance by restaurant staff."
That’s because when users buy a system — or lease it for $450 a month — they get a service contract with the company for cleaning and maintenance.
The owner of the very first Vegawatt, George Carey (pictured above), seems pleased with the unit, too. He heartily endorses the company on its website, saying, "The Vegawatt system enables me to significantly reduce my energy costs, generate clean energy on-site, and very importantly, reduce the heavy energy footprint of my restaurant."
A new garage-engineered generator burns the waste oil from restaurants’ deep fryers to generate electricity and hot water. Put 80 gallons of grease into the Vegawatt each week, and its creators promise it will generate about 5 kilowatts of power.
That’s about 10 percent of the total energy needs of Finz, a seafood restaurant in Dedham, Massachusetts, where the first Vegawatt is being tested. At New England electricity rates, the system offsets about $2.50 worth of electricity with each gallon of waste oil poured into it.
Vegawatt’s founder and inventor, James Peret, estimates that restaurants purchasing the $22,000 machine will save about $1,000 per month in electricity costs, for a payback time of two years.
"You take this waste resource and make it a profit center," said Peret, who spent four long years cooking up the project in his garage. "When I started telling people, they said, ‘Someone’s gotta have done this.’ I’d run into more people. They’d say, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this?’ My only response was, ‘I don’t know; it seems like a good idea.’"
While Vegawatt is a small solution, Peret’s invention is a very clever embodiment of several long-cherished alternative-energy ideas: capturing both the heat and power from fuel combustion, making energy where it’s used, and recycling used resources. Big industrial plants that make paper, for example, have long taken advantage of these concepts to save on their utility bills, but the Vegawatt will be the first product that could turn thousands of fast food restaurants into mini power plants.
"Now the restaurant owners are going to be motivated to put every single drop of waste oil into this thing, because it will pay for itself," Peret said.
And importantly, it provides convenience for restaurateurs or Burger
King managers, instead of subtracting it, like so many green solutions seem to.
Restaurants that fry delicious things like chicken and french fries generate dozens of gallons of waste oil that have to be stored in barrels out back. Because used cooking oil is considered a low-grade hazardous material, they haven’t been allowed to just throw it away; they generally had to pay rendering-plant operators to come. But it is now a sellers’ market for grease.
Higher crude prices have made other types of oil more expensive. Biodiesel makers and renderers have become increasingly willing to pay up to 40 cents a gallon for the stuff. There have even been reports of "biodiesel pirates" stealing fryer grease.
In fact, Vegawatt is derived from the home-brew fuel movement that many trace back to Dr. Thomas Reed, who popularized a recipe to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel more than 20 years ago. Peret converted his truck to run on straight vegetable oil, or SVO to home brewers. But he was troubled by the inefficiency of the process.
"If you want to run waste vegetable oil in your car, it’s not as simple as going behind a restaurant and filling up," Peret said. "People that do this spend the majority of their free time collecting fuel from restaurants."
Peret realized he could use the same engine technology to power an on-site generator and defray a restaurant’s electricity costs.
"It’s not difficult to go from spinning tires to spinning magnets," he said
So he created a test unit — which you can see at the back of his garage in the top photo — that’s basically a diesel generator hacked to run waste cooking oil. It feeds power directly into the restaurant’s electrical system through a 30 amp hook-in.
Vegawatt is more efficient than a typical coal or natural gas plant. Peret said it can capture 70 percent of the fuel’s caloric value. That’s because the generator captures and uses the waste heat it generates.
"All the water [the restaurant] would send to its boiler, instead of sending it straight there from the city, we run it through our heat exchanger first," Peret said. "Depending on the flow, [the water] can go into the hot water heater at 120 degrees." (This non-electrical energy savings is included in the 5-kilowatt rating cited above.)
The big power plants, though technically very efficient, waste most of the fuel they burn. After accounting for all the sources of energy waste "what you are left with … is just 27.6 units of usable energy out of every 100 units you started with," energy researcher Benjamin Sovacool explained in his recent book, The Dirty Energy Dilemma. "In terms of making toast, it would have been nearly four times more efficient just to burn a lump of coal and place your bread over the flame."
Biomass energy sources — like waste wood, switchgrass or cooking oil — are best when used right near the source of their creation. Dragging the stuff creates more emissions and raises the cost of the fuel. Vegawatt doesn’t have that problem. By company estimates, the Vegawatt generates 50 percent less carbon dioxide than a comparable amount of electricity from a coal power plant.
"In terms of the amount of energy that it takes to transport this waste, it’s a french fry," Peret said. "You just feed the guy who is picking up the bucket and pouring it into the system."
Forest Gregg, an alternative-fuels expert and author of last year’s SVO: Powering Your Vehicle with Straight Vegetble Oil, called it a "nifty application and a great business idea."
Gregg also drew attention to a strong part of Vegawatt’s pitch: that it won’t require "intervention or maintenance by restaurant staff."
That’s because when users buy a system — or lease it for $450 a month — they get a service contract with the company for cleaning and maintenance.
The owner of the very first Vegawatt, George Carey (pictured above), seems pleased with the unit, too. He heartily endorses the company on its website, saying, "The Vegawatt system enables me to significantly reduce my energy costs, generate clean energy on-site, and very importantly, reduce the heavy energy footprint of my restaurant."
Convert a Car to Biodiesel- Wired Wiki
Convert a Car to Biodiesel
From Wired How-To Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
We've all heard stories about the wonders of biodiesel cars. Unfortunately, rigging a vehicle to run on this cheaper, more environmentally sound fuel takes more than a "Veggie-powered" bumper sticker. Here's the scoop on how to transform your ride into a petroleum-free, cash saving driving machine. Contents [hide]
1 Diesel Vs. Biodiesel Vs. Vegetable Oil
1.1 Petroleum Diesel (petrodiesel)
1.2 Biodiesel
1.3 Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
2 Step 1: Get a Diesel Car
3 Step 2: Scout a Fuel Source
4 Step 3: Procure a Conversion Kit
5 Step 4: Choose Your Install Method
5.1 Mechanic
5.2 Self-Install
6 Step 5: Filter The Used SVO and Fill the Tank
Diesel Vs. Biodiesel Vs. Vegetable OilThere's often a little confusion when it comes to the term "biodiesel." When one speaks of converting their vehicle, it's usually in reference to vegetable oil specifically. However, this confusion is compounded by the fact that most diesel engines can run on regular diesel, biodiesel, and some form of vegetable oil too. Here's the difference between the three:
Petroleum Diesel (petrodiesel)
This is the 'regular' diesel you'll find at a gas station. It's easy enough to locate, and ultimately what a diesel engine was designed for. In addition to supply advantages, petrodiesel is also better suited for colder temperatures than its bio cousins.
Biodiesel
Photo by skidrd on FlickrBiodiesel is basically a non-petroleum variation of diesel that's been chemically modified through a process called transesterification. Though not nearly as available as petrodiesel, it's often sold in varying mixes of petrodiesel/biodiesel. A system called the "B factor" is used to denote the percentage of biodiesel contained within a petrol/bio mix. For example, biodiesel rated "B5," "B20," or "B100" contains 5 percent, 20 percent, and 100 percent biodiesel respectively. These percentages are worth noting because some stock diesel engines have problems running on pure biodiesel (B100) for extended periods of time.
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
If you've stepped foot in a kitchen, chances are you've encountered straight vegetable oil. It's commonly derived from soy, corn, palm, hemp, or a number of other vegetable sources. Despite being the brass ring for biodiesel aficionados, the setbacks for this fuel source are numerous. For starters, it's extremely expensive if purchased off the shelf -- especially compared to petrodiesel. Also, since it hasn't been chemically treated like biodiesel, SVO tends to turn to gel at low temperatures.
Step 1: Get a Diesel CarBad news gasoline lovers. The cornerstone of this conversion is a diesel engine. Since diesel vehicles fell out of vogue for automakers during the 90's, finding a newer used car may prove a challenge. But on the bright side, automakers should be bringing diesel cars back into the marketplace in the coming years.
Step 2: Scout a Fuel Source
Waste Vegetable Oil: It's not clean. It's not pleasant. But it's cheap (and good for the environment).What good is an eco-friendly car without eco-friendly fuel? Believe it or not, the best starting point for large amounts of vegetable oil is restaurants. Local fast food joints should have vats of used SVO (sometimes called waste vegetable oil) out back, and ripe for the taking. However, there's no guarantee you'll be able to waltz in and skim whenever you want. It's best to talk to the manager and get a feel for how much SVO the business generates and then try to hash out a regular pickup schedule.
A good balance is make an arrangement with a few businesses in the area to secure a rotating supply. Don't panic if you can't secure a solid source right off though. After all, you can still run on petrodiesel or even biodiesel in the meantime.
Step 3: Procure a Conversion KitA conversion kit is pretty much mandatory for SVO-only operation. Like any other large purchase, it's advisable to hit up online biodiesel communities before rushing out to make a purchase. Shopping around and compiling testimonials is crucial for two reasons: First, prices for equipment and labor can vary greatly. Second, it's likely there's a specific kit that works best with the make and model car you've chosen. Picking the collective brain of the local biodiesel community will likely bring details like this to light. Good sources for kit info can be found at greasecar.com and frybrid.com.
Step 4: Choose Your Install MethodMechanic
Playing grease monkey not your thing? Finding a mechanic to do the install for you shouldn't be too hard. Just be sure to find someone who has some sort of experience performing the conversion. Chances are you're voiding the vehicle's warranty by undergoing this process, so it's best to have someone skilled in your corner if something goes wrong or additional maintenance is needed.
Self-Install
The sky's the limit with modifications. Just remember you're responsible for the upkeep. Photo by 300td.org on FlickrTackling a kit install isn't an impossible task, but it's definitely involved. Luckily, most kits are relatively user-friendly and designed with the eco-conscious DIYer in mind. Below are some of the the more common mods you'll have to install:
SVO Fuel Tank
The difference in viscosity between SVO and diesel can be problematic given their different gel points. So, most kits employ a two tank system for keeping the fuels separate. This is usually achieved by providing a second fuel tank (typically stored in the trunk) specifically for the SVO. Any kit up to snuff should also supply a pumping system for getting the SVO out of the fuel system for once the car is no longer in use.
Hose/Seal Overhaul for the Fuel System
Though diesel engines can handle SVO, it's a toss up whether the fuel system is compatible. Rubber hoses and seals from older vehicles are notorious for breaking down after prolonged exposure to heated SVO. If you're able to locate a kit specific to your make and model, it's not uncommon to see a new set of SVO-safe hoses, seals, and additional filters included for install.
Heating System
One of the biggest setbacks of SVO is its need for heat. Conversion kits combat this by including a heating system to warm the SVO before pumping it into the fuel system. One of the most common setups is a system that pumps waste heat from the radiator into the SVO tank. If the kit doesn't include a similar system, take heed -- the cold will always be your enemy, and you're going to need some sort of heating solution to keep the SVO running smoothly through the fuel system.
Step 5: Filter The Used SVO and Fill the Tank
The filtering process can be long and messy, but it'll save your fuel system. Photo by Laboratorio en Movimiento on FlickrWith a used SVO supply and a converted vehicle, you're almost ready to get moving. The final hurdle is filtering the waste oil you've collected and getting it into the SVO tank. Although there are a number of filtration methods, one of the simplest is to heat the oil (a container as simple as a metal bucket can work) and then pour it through a series of cheap household filters. Large coffee filters or even mesh strainers should do the trick, but there's lots of room to get fancy if money isn't an issue. Just remember that the ultimate goal is to remove any visible leftover food particles and debris before loading it into the SVO tank.
This page was last modified 01:27, 3 September 2008 by trussell
From Wired How-To Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
We've all heard stories about the wonders of biodiesel cars. Unfortunately, rigging a vehicle to run on this cheaper, more environmentally sound fuel takes more than a "Veggie-powered" bumper sticker. Here's the scoop on how to transform your ride into a petroleum-free, cash saving driving machine. Contents [hide]
1 Diesel Vs. Biodiesel Vs. Vegetable Oil
1.1 Petroleum Diesel (petrodiesel)
1.2 Biodiesel
1.3 Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
2 Step 1: Get a Diesel Car
3 Step 2: Scout a Fuel Source
4 Step 3: Procure a Conversion Kit
5 Step 4: Choose Your Install Method
5.1 Mechanic
5.2 Self-Install
6 Step 5: Filter The Used SVO and Fill the Tank
Diesel Vs. Biodiesel Vs. Vegetable OilThere's often a little confusion when it comes to the term "biodiesel." When one speaks of converting their vehicle, it's usually in reference to vegetable oil specifically. However, this confusion is compounded by the fact that most diesel engines can run on regular diesel, biodiesel, and some form of vegetable oil too. Here's the difference between the three:
Petroleum Diesel (petrodiesel)
This is the 'regular' diesel you'll find at a gas station. It's easy enough to locate, and ultimately what a diesel engine was designed for. In addition to supply advantages, petrodiesel is also better suited for colder temperatures than its bio cousins.
Biodiesel
Photo by skidrd on FlickrBiodiesel is basically a non-petroleum variation of diesel that's been chemically modified through a process called transesterification. Though not nearly as available as petrodiesel, it's often sold in varying mixes of petrodiesel/biodiesel. A system called the "B factor" is used to denote the percentage of biodiesel contained within a petrol/bio mix. For example, biodiesel rated "B5," "B20," or "B100" contains 5 percent, 20 percent, and 100 percent biodiesel respectively. These percentages are worth noting because some stock diesel engines have problems running on pure biodiesel (B100) for extended periods of time.
Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)
If you've stepped foot in a kitchen, chances are you've encountered straight vegetable oil. It's commonly derived from soy, corn, palm, hemp, or a number of other vegetable sources. Despite being the brass ring for biodiesel aficionados, the setbacks for this fuel source are numerous. For starters, it's extremely expensive if purchased off the shelf -- especially compared to petrodiesel. Also, since it hasn't been chemically treated like biodiesel, SVO tends to turn to gel at low temperatures.
Step 1: Get a Diesel CarBad news gasoline lovers. The cornerstone of this conversion is a diesel engine. Since diesel vehicles fell out of vogue for automakers during the 90's, finding a newer used car may prove a challenge. But on the bright side, automakers should be bringing diesel cars back into the marketplace in the coming years.
Step 2: Scout a Fuel Source
Waste Vegetable Oil: It's not clean. It's not pleasant. But it's cheap (and good for the environment).What good is an eco-friendly car without eco-friendly fuel? Believe it or not, the best starting point for large amounts of vegetable oil is restaurants. Local fast food joints should have vats of used SVO (sometimes called waste vegetable oil) out back, and ripe for the taking. However, there's no guarantee you'll be able to waltz in and skim whenever you want. It's best to talk to the manager and get a feel for how much SVO the business generates and then try to hash out a regular pickup schedule.
A good balance is make an arrangement with a few businesses in the area to secure a rotating supply. Don't panic if you can't secure a solid source right off though. After all, you can still run on petrodiesel or even biodiesel in the meantime.
Step 3: Procure a Conversion KitA conversion kit is pretty much mandatory for SVO-only operation. Like any other large purchase, it's advisable to hit up online biodiesel communities before rushing out to make a purchase. Shopping around and compiling testimonials is crucial for two reasons: First, prices for equipment and labor can vary greatly. Second, it's likely there's a specific kit that works best with the make and model car you've chosen. Picking the collective brain of the local biodiesel community will likely bring details like this to light. Good sources for kit info can be found at greasecar.com and frybrid.com.
Step 4: Choose Your Install MethodMechanic
Playing grease monkey not your thing? Finding a mechanic to do the install for you shouldn't be too hard. Just be sure to find someone who has some sort of experience performing the conversion. Chances are you're voiding the vehicle's warranty by undergoing this process, so it's best to have someone skilled in your corner if something goes wrong or additional maintenance is needed.
Self-Install
The sky's the limit with modifications. Just remember you're responsible for the upkeep. Photo by 300td.org on FlickrTackling a kit install isn't an impossible task, but it's definitely involved. Luckily, most kits are relatively user-friendly and designed with the eco-conscious DIYer in mind. Below are some of the the more common mods you'll have to install:
SVO Fuel Tank
The difference in viscosity between SVO and diesel can be problematic given their different gel points. So, most kits employ a two tank system for keeping the fuels separate. This is usually achieved by providing a second fuel tank (typically stored in the trunk) specifically for the SVO. Any kit up to snuff should also supply a pumping system for getting the SVO out of the fuel system for once the car is no longer in use.
Hose/Seal Overhaul for the Fuel System
Though diesel engines can handle SVO, it's a toss up whether the fuel system is compatible. Rubber hoses and seals from older vehicles are notorious for breaking down after prolonged exposure to heated SVO. If you're able to locate a kit specific to your make and model, it's not uncommon to see a new set of SVO-safe hoses, seals, and additional filters included for install.
Heating System
One of the biggest setbacks of SVO is its need for heat. Conversion kits combat this by including a heating system to warm the SVO before pumping it into the fuel system. One of the most common setups is a system that pumps waste heat from the radiator into the SVO tank. If the kit doesn't include a similar system, take heed -- the cold will always be your enemy, and you're going to need some sort of heating solution to keep the SVO running smoothly through the fuel system.
Step 5: Filter The Used SVO and Fill the Tank
The filtering process can be long and messy, but it'll save your fuel system. Photo by Laboratorio en Movimiento on FlickrWith a used SVO supply and a converted vehicle, you're almost ready to get moving. The final hurdle is filtering the waste oil you've collected and getting it into the SVO tank. Although there are a number of filtration methods, one of the simplest is to heat the oil (a container as simple as a metal bucket can work) and then pour it through a series of cheap household filters. Large coffee filters or even mesh strainers should do the trick, but there's lots of room to get fancy if money isn't an issue. Just remember that the ultimate goal is to remove any visible leftover food particles and debris before loading it into the SVO tank.
This page was last modified 01:27, 3 September 2008 by trussell
Friday, May 29, 2009
Vampire power costs
Vampire power costs
By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Wed May 27, 2009 10:57am PDT
Related topics: Electronics, Electricity, Saving energy at home More from The Conscious Consumer blog
There's a lot of interest in the fact that many electronic devices in our homes are using energy even while they are turned off or not being used. But, how much money do these energy vampires really suck up?
For many people, the standby power used by one device will seem minuscule, but the costs can add up when you take into account just how many things we all have plugged in. What's more, many households, have multiple televisions, computers, cordless phones, and others.
All told, the money wasted by an average U.S. household on standby power each year could easily be used to purchase an iPod Shuffle or in some cases even a Nano.
Below is a list of the annual average costs for many household gadgets that are turned off and plugged in. Just add up the costs for everything you have plugged in at home to find out how much standby power costs you each year.
Keep in mind that these are just averages, and in some categories there are big differences between most and least efficient products. How much energy each of your devices consumes will depend on both the device itself and your local electricity costs.
We calculated the following averages based on energy use stats from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy using a price of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Home Entertainment
CRT TV: $1.00
LCD TV: $2.97
Plasma TV: $2.97
DVD: $1.53
VCR: $4.63
Digital cable box: $17.65
Satellite cable box: $15.50
DVR: $36.63
Digital cable box with DVR: $43.01
Satellite cable box with DVR: $27.52
Video game console: $1.00
Portable stereo: $1.64
AM/FM tuner: $1.11
CD player: $4.99
Home Office
Desktop computer: $3.96
Laptop computer: $8.81
Laptop charger (unattached to laptop): $4.38
LDC monitor: $1.12
Printer: $1.98
Multifunction printer, scanner, copier: $5.21
Computer speakers: $1.98
Other
Coffee maker: $1.12
Microwave oven: $3.05
Cordless phone: $1.98
Answering machine: $1.99
Power tool: $3.96
Handheld vacuum: $2.97
Electric toothbrush: $1.98
Cell phone charger (unattached to phone): $0.26
Costs start adding up when you take into account electronics that may be left on when you're not using them.
Here's a small sampling:
Desktop computer: $71.00
Video game console: $23.10
VCR: $7.69
DVD player: $7.46
CD player: $8.53
There's little consumers can do about set-top cable, satellite, and DVR/TiVo boxes. Television shows can't be taped if boxes are unplugged and it typically takes a long time to reboot boxes. Since it's not practical to unplug them, the best you can do is remember to turn off the box when you're not actively watching TV. I have a Tivo, set-top box and TV, and I wondered how much it costs when not being used, so here the information is. I wish they had a TV and set-top that you could turn off and would turn itself on and off when a program you want to save comes on. I would also like to know how much energy is taken up by my BOINC program, which does reseach number crunching while I'm not using my computer. Its also not clear to me if the $71 figure above represents a monthly or yearly amount.
By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Wed May 27, 2009 10:57am PDT
Related topics: Electronics, Electricity, Saving energy at home More from The Conscious Consumer blog
There's a lot of interest in the fact that many electronic devices in our homes are using energy even while they are turned off or not being used. But, how much money do these energy vampires really suck up?
For many people, the standby power used by one device will seem minuscule, but the costs can add up when you take into account just how many things we all have plugged in. What's more, many households, have multiple televisions, computers, cordless phones, and others.
All told, the money wasted by an average U.S. household on standby power each year could easily be used to purchase an iPod Shuffle or in some cases even a Nano.
Below is a list of the annual average costs for many household gadgets that are turned off and plugged in. Just add up the costs for everything you have plugged in at home to find out how much standby power costs you each year.
Keep in mind that these are just averages, and in some categories there are big differences between most and least efficient products. How much energy each of your devices consumes will depend on both the device itself and your local electricity costs.
We calculated the following averages based on energy use stats from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy using a price of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Home Entertainment
CRT TV: $1.00
LCD TV: $2.97
Plasma TV: $2.97
DVD: $1.53
VCR: $4.63
Digital cable box: $17.65
Satellite cable box: $15.50
DVR: $36.63
Digital cable box with DVR: $43.01
Satellite cable box with DVR: $27.52
Video game console: $1.00
Portable stereo: $1.64
AM/FM tuner: $1.11
CD player: $4.99
Home Office
Desktop computer: $3.96
Laptop computer: $8.81
Laptop charger (unattached to laptop): $4.38
LDC monitor: $1.12
Printer: $1.98
Multifunction printer, scanner, copier: $5.21
Computer speakers: $1.98
Other
Coffee maker: $1.12
Microwave oven: $3.05
Cordless phone: $1.98
Answering machine: $1.99
Power tool: $3.96
Handheld vacuum: $2.97
Electric toothbrush: $1.98
Cell phone charger (unattached to phone): $0.26
Costs start adding up when you take into account electronics that may be left on when you're not using them.
Here's a small sampling:
Desktop computer: $71.00
Video game console: $23.10
VCR: $7.69
DVD player: $7.46
CD player: $8.53
There's little consumers can do about set-top cable, satellite, and DVR/TiVo boxes. Television shows can't be taped if boxes are unplugged and it typically takes a long time to reboot boxes. Since it's not practical to unplug them, the best you can do is remember to turn off the box when you're not actively watching TV. I have a Tivo, set-top box and TV, and I wondered how much it costs when not being used, so here the information is. I wish they had a TV and set-top that you could turn off and would turn itself on and off when a program you want to save comes on. I would also like to know how much energy is taken up by my BOINC program, which does reseach number crunching while I'm not using my computer. Its also not clear to me if the $71 figure above represents a monthly or yearly amount.
Is Obama Playing God With the American Electric Car?
Is Obama Playing God With the American Electric Car?
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.27.09
It was pretty good news for clean energy enthusiasts when Obama announced $2.4 billion in funding for electric vehicles. Sure, like the high speed rail plans, it didn't seem like enough money, but a couple billion can go a long way. So what's the problem? Decisions as to who gets the funding will be decided by Obama, his team, and state governments--meaning the gov will have a huge hand in deciding which electric cars succeed or fail. Will Obama decide the fate of the American electric car?
The funding will largely go to developing the electric car batteries--meaning the government will find itself charged with decided which battery will be most cost-effective, most marketable, and most economically viable. But are they best equipped to make the decision that could determine the future of the electric car in the US?
Over at Green Biz, Marc Gunther dives into the problem:
Much as I admire Steven Chu, the energy secretary, do we really want to entrust him and his staff to decide which battery technologies are likely to succeed and which companies can most wisely spend that $2.4 billion?
One thing to consider is whether or not the electric car will be deemed mass marketable by the administration:
Some of these batteries, by the way, could well find their way into cars like the Tesla (sticker price:$109,000) and those made by Fisker Automotive, a California firm that plans to sell $88,000 luxury-hybrids next year. So tax dollars collected from working people and the middle class go to subsidize rich boys and their toys.
So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?
Please don’t get me wrong. I think electric cars are a great idea. The faster they arrive, the better. But judgments about which battery-makers to finance should best be left to venture capitalists, investors like Buffett (who bought 10 percent of BYD), big investment banks and the like. They may be no smarter than the people at the DOE but at least they are putting their own (or their investors’) money on the line. If they’re wrong, they’ll be held accountable, or at least they should be. You can be sure that some of them will be wrong, and that’s fine.
It's an interesting perspective to be sure, and free market capitalists (even pro-green ones) are probably cringing a little at what could happen to the electric car industry. Then again, some pretty strong arguments could also be made for better regulatory guidance on industry at the moment . . .
More on Obama and Cars
Obama Kills Hydrogen Car Funding
Obama to Automakers: Make Greener American Cars or Go Under
Obama to Issue National Auto Emissions Standard: All Cars Must Get 42 MPG by 2016
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
GM Defends the Volt, Attacks Smaller Electric Car Start-Ups (Tesla, Fisker, etc)
Did You Know Saving Water = Saving Electricity?
Finally! Norwegians Take to the Streets for Electric Cars (and Get Electric Car Sharing!)
Waxman-Markey Bill To Move Forward, After Arrests and Speed Reading
Comments (16)
um.... isn't that kind of his JOB? it's called the EXECUTIVE branch for a reason....
i'd rather him make the decision than mccain, palin, bush, cheney, or even clinton.
May 27, 2009 5:06 PM | flag a problem
aaron says:
um.... isn't that kind of his JOB? it's called the EXECUTIVE branch for a reason....
i'd rather him make the decision than mccain, palin, bush, cheney, or even clinton.
May 27, 2009 5:24 PM | flag a problem
aaron says:
@Brian
{sarcasm ON}Yeah cause trusting big corporations is better than trusting the President ...........{/sarcasm OFF}
May 27, 2009 5:27 PM | flag a problem
Anonymous says:
No... that is not his job. If Congress decides to pass a law stipulating that the government will choose the best battery, he can sign it into law. He can make big pushes to one battery or the other.
Honestly, I would like the market to decide. I don't want to have a cheap piece of junk, or a really expensive battery shoved down my throat. If you want to spur innovation, have a contest and set the standards. First to achieve it gets a boat load of money. A donkey will move a lot better with a carrot than whipping it with a stick.
But I shouldn't be surprised. Obama is expanding governmental role in a lot of things, why would this be any different
May 27, 2009 5:44 PM | flag a problem
Anon says:
The "playing god" bit is hyperbole. He's making exactly the kind of decisions that he's supposed to be making. That's not playing god, that's acting as the President.
The logic of venture capitalists being better at deciding who gets the money is weak. Is he suggesting that Obama give the money to venture capitalists? Is he suggesting that the government not invest the money at all and just let private investors do it? I think he's missing the whole point of what the President is trying to do.
May 27, 2009 6:11 PM | flag a problem
Jason M. Bryant says:
Aaron:
No, it is not the job of the chief executive of the federal government to be the chief executive of the automobile industry.
Maybe you are right that Obama will do a better job deciding which car companies should live and which should die than would Bush, McCain, Clinton, etc. The issue, however, is whether ANY president should be making that decision.
As in every other industry, we should be making that decision. We make decisions about which companies live and which die every day through the purchasing decisions we make. If Electric Car company A makes a better car than company B, we will buy more cars from company A.
The free market is not perfect, of course. Because we don't directly pay for the environmental impacts of cars in the purchase price, we are underpaying for non-electric cars. The government's $2.4B is supposed to equalize that, in theory. The problem is that it seeks to do it by giving it to individual companies. If the government subsidizes the wrong company, then we will be buying the wrong cars.
Why not give the money to buyers of electric vehicles? Then we can make the purchase decision that is right for us, and the government will subsidize the higher cost of electric vehicles across the board. Or tax the fuel consumption of new vehicles, allowing us to internalize the environmental costs of ICE vehicles and make the right decisions accordingly? There are many ways the government can incentivize the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles without giving one man the decision of which vehicles we will buy, which is almost certain to achieve inefficient results.
May 27, 2009 6:52 PM | flag a problem
Eric says:
"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."
--P. J. O'Rourke
May 27, 2009 7:34 PM | flag a problem
Mike z. says:
""When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.""
I thought the first thing to go was the Truth.
Better be careful here, the Ministry of Love might be looking....
May 27, 2009 8:23 PM | flag a problem
Don says:
The question is tossing a card in a cocked hat. MBA's and financial wizards and investors and politicians are all completely unqualified to magage R&D projects and judge reliability and performance characteristics of batteries.
What they can do is evaluate, as a team, the market readiness and affordability of preliminary engineering cost estimates. We are years from that point yet.
May 27, 2009 9:39 PM | flag a problem
John Laumer says:
Problem? What Problem?
"Obama announced $2.4 billion in funding for electric vehicles"
. . . That doesn't sound like a problem,
. . . it sounds more like a solution!
"Obama, his team, and state governments--meaning the gov."
will have a huge hand in decided(ing) which electric cars succeed or fail.
. . . They can't be less competent then the BIG-3?
Tax dollars collected from working people and the middle class go to subsidize batteries, that will be used by everyone,
. . . including some who may be rich?
Venture capitalists, investors like Buffett (who bought 10 percent of BYD), big investment banks and the like,
. . . are still free to make judgments about which
. . . battery-makers to finance.
May 27, 2009 11:14 PM | flag a problem
ed says:
Why so shocked when you suddenly discover The Messiah is playing God? Wasn't that the plan all along?
"So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?"
What? You doubt the ability of someone with all that experience under his belt as a "community organizer" to decide such a simple issue?
The fact is, no matter what amount of government meddling and taxpayer money is flushed down the toilet on this dog and pony show, there is only one place the matter is decided -- the marketplace. And the market has already decided that it doesn't care about electric cars. Nobody wants them at any price.
May 27, 2009 11:49 PM | flag a problem
db says:
I'll support electric vehicles when America stops generating electricity from fossil fuels. As far as I am concerned their is no inherent right to drive any kind of car. It would be better to encourage Americans to use public transportation.
May 27, 2009 11:52 PM | flag a problem
Frank Chavez says:
I love this article , because it show the fascism that comes with green thinking. The best quote is this one "So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?"
It's interesting to me is that If Obama can't save us who will. You should remember what state Obama come from. Where pay to play is everything. I you want your battery endorse by the government,you give a few bucks to my campaign fund or in Obama's case you help me buy my house. Its a big fraud in the making. Electric cars will come to the market some day. We are heading in that direction. Don't dream about God 2.0 (Obama) to bring heaven on earth.
May 28, 2009 1:23 AM | flag a problem
Juan says:
Jeff is completely correct. The key is externalities. Corporate pollution is an externality that the cap and trade pollution tax will address. Polluters will become less profitable, hopefully.
Buyer's decisions can have externalities, too, particularly when specialized expertise is concerned. For instance, if we were all to vote on moon-rocket designs, chances are our voted collective choice would not make it off the ground. Similarly, ordinary buyers know nothing of aerodynamics and they prefer 'styled' bodies rather than 'aerodynamic' bodies. The resulting market inefficiency means that half the gas we use to move our cars from place to place is wasted just pushing air out of the way. Aerodynamic vehicles with government mandated low coefficients of drag would reduce the deficit significantly and end our dependence upon middle-eastern oil. All it is is bending the sheet metal right. Bigger cars get better, far better, gas mileage. See www.aerocivic.com for an example. All our cars should be aerodynamic as soon as possible so we can stop wasting so much fuel. Top speeds would increase. We need to add boat tails, belly pans, and enclose open wheel wells. The bodies could be heavier and still get better mileage. It ain't rocket science.
May 28, 2009 2:59 AM | flag a problem
Ross Nicholson says:
Having someone play GOD is a refreshing change from decades of White House dwellers who played SATAN.
May 28, 2009 3:05 AM | flag a problem
Joe says
I personally like the idea of having a contest and perhaps fund the best 3 or 5 ideas and concepts presented. It seems to have worked pretty well with the solar car and house concept, and the unmanned rocket program, so give it a try! I also like the idea of the Million Solar Roof project in California. The government could agree to underwrite a million solar systems to get the volume pricing and then make them available to those who are interested at a very reasonable rate thru banks, S & Ls, and credit unions. Let people finance their solar system like they do their mortgage, over 20 years. Several cities are already doing that for their residents and collecting payments each month along with the water and garbage bills. The solar system adds value to the house and when its sold the solar mortgage is sold right along with the deed to the house. It would support solar businesses, create solar employment, and kickstart the renewable energy initiatives.
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 05.27.09
It was pretty good news for clean energy enthusiasts when Obama announced $2.4 billion in funding for electric vehicles. Sure, like the high speed rail plans, it didn't seem like enough money, but a couple billion can go a long way. So what's the problem? Decisions as to who gets the funding will be decided by Obama, his team, and state governments--meaning the gov will have a huge hand in deciding which electric cars succeed or fail. Will Obama decide the fate of the American electric car?
The funding will largely go to developing the electric car batteries--meaning the government will find itself charged with decided which battery will be most cost-effective, most marketable, and most economically viable. But are they best equipped to make the decision that could determine the future of the electric car in the US?
Over at Green Biz, Marc Gunther dives into the problem:
Much as I admire Steven Chu, the energy secretary, do we really want to entrust him and his staff to decide which battery technologies are likely to succeed and which companies can most wisely spend that $2.4 billion?
One thing to consider is whether or not the electric car will be deemed mass marketable by the administration:
Some of these batteries, by the way, could well find their way into cars like the Tesla (sticker price:$109,000) and those made by Fisker Automotive, a California firm that plans to sell $88,000 luxury-hybrids next year. So tax dollars collected from working people and the middle class go to subsidize rich boys and their toys.
So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?
Please don’t get me wrong. I think electric cars are a great idea. The faster they arrive, the better. But judgments about which battery-makers to finance should best be left to venture capitalists, investors like Buffett (who bought 10 percent of BYD), big investment banks and the like. They may be no smarter than the people at the DOE but at least they are putting their own (or their investors’) money on the line. If they’re wrong, they’ll be held accountable, or at least they should be. You can be sure that some of them will be wrong, and that’s fine.
It's an interesting perspective to be sure, and free market capitalists (even pro-green ones) are probably cringing a little at what could happen to the electric car industry. Then again, some pretty strong arguments could also be made for better regulatory guidance on industry at the moment . . .
More on Obama and Cars
Obama Kills Hydrogen Car Funding
Obama to Automakers: Make Greener American Cars or Go Under
Obama to Issue National Auto Emissions Standard: All Cars Must Get 42 MPG by 2016
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
GM Defends the Volt, Attacks Smaller Electric Car Start-Ups (Tesla, Fisker, etc)
Did You Know Saving Water = Saving Electricity?
Finally! Norwegians Take to the Streets for Electric Cars (and Get Electric Car Sharing!)
Waxman-Markey Bill To Move Forward, After Arrests and Speed Reading
Comments (16)
um.... isn't that kind of his JOB? it's called the EXECUTIVE branch for a reason....
i'd rather him make the decision than mccain, palin, bush, cheney, or even clinton.
May 27, 2009 5:06 PM | flag a problem
aaron says:
um.... isn't that kind of his JOB? it's called the EXECUTIVE branch for a reason....
i'd rather him make the decision than mccain, palin, bush, cheney, or even clinton.
May 27, 2009 5:24 PM | flag a problem
aaron says:
@Brian
{sarcasm ON}Yeah cause trusting big corporations is better than trusting the President ...........{/sarcasm OFF}
May 27, 2009 5:27 PM | flag a problem
Anonymous says:
No... that is not his job. If Congress decides to pass a law stipulating that the government will choose the best battery, he can sign it into law. He can make big pushes to one battery or the other.
Honestly, I would like the market to decide. I don't want to have a cheap piece of junk, or a really expensive battery shoved down my throat. If you want to spur innovation, have a contest and set the standards. First to achieve it gets a boat load of money. A donkey will move a lot better with a carrot than whipping it with a stick.
But I shouldn't be surprised. Obama is expanding governmental role in a lot of things, why would this be any different
May 27, 2009 5:44 PM | flag a problem
Anon says:
The "playing god" bit is hyperbole. He's making exactly the kind of decisions that he's supposed to be making. That's not playing god, that's acting as the President.
The logic of venture capitalists being better at deciding who gets the money is weak. Is he suggesting that Obama give the money to venture capitalists? Is he suggesting that the government not invest the money at all and just let private investors do it? I think he's missing the whole point of what the President is trying to do.
May 27, 2009 6:11 PM | flag a problem
Jason M. Bryant says:
Aaron:
No, it is not the job of the chief executive of the federal government to be the chief executive of the automobile industry.
Maybe you are right that Obama will do a better job deciding which car companies should live and which should die than would Bush, McCain, Clinton, etc. The issue, however, is whether ANY president should be making that decision.
As in every other industry, we should be making that decision. We make decisions about which companies live and which die every day through the purchasing decisions we make. If Electric Car company A makes a better car than company B, we will buy more cars from company A.
The free market is not perfect, of course. Because we don't directly pay for the environmental impacts of cars in the purchase price, we are underpaying for non-electric cars. The government's $2.4B is supposed to equalize that, in theory. The problem is that it seeks to do it by giving it to individual companies. If the government subsidizes the wrong company, then we will be buying the wrong cars.
Why not give the money to buyers of electric vehicles? Then we can make the purchase decision that is right for us, and the government will subsidize the higher cost of electric vehicles across the board. Or tax the fuel consumption of new vehicles, allowing us to internalize the environmental costs of ICE vehicles and make the right decisions accordingly? There are many ways the government can incentivize the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicles without giving one man the decision of which vehicles we will buy, which is almost certain to achieve inefficient results.
May 27, 2009 6:52 PM | flag a problem
Eric says:
"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators."
--P. J. O'Rourke
May 27, 2009 7:34 PM | flag a problem
Mike z. says:
""When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.""
I thought the first thing to go was the Truth.
Better be careful here, the Ministry of Love might be looking....
May 27, 2009 8:23 PM | flag a problem
Don says:
The question is tossing a card in a cocked hat. MBA's and financial wizards and investors and politicians are all completely unqualified to magage R&D projects and judge reliability and performance characteristics of batteries.
What they can do is evaluate, as a team, the market readiness and affordability of preliminary engineering cost estimates. We are years from that point yet.
May 27, 2009 9:39 PM | flag a problem
John Laumer says:
Problem? What Problem?
"Obama announced $2.4 billion in funding for electric vehicles"
. . . That doesn't sound like a problem,
. . . it sounds more like a solution!
"Obama, his team, and state governments--meaning the gov."
will have a huge hand in decided(ing) which electric cars succeed or fail.
. . . They can't be less competent then the BIG-3?
Tax dollars collected from working people and the middle class go to subsidize batteries, that will be used by everyone,
. . . including some who may be rich?
Venture capitalists, investors like Buffett (who bought 10 percent of BYD), big investment banks and the like,
. . . are still free to make judgments about which
. . . battery-makers to finance.
May 27, 2009 11:14 PM | flag a problem
ed says:
Why so shocked when you suddenly discover The Messiah is playing God? Wasn't that the plan all along?
"So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?"
What? You doubt the ability of someone with all that experience under his belt as a "community organizer" to decide such a simple issue?
The fact is, no matter what amount of government meddling and taxpayer money is flushed down the toilet on this dog and pony show, there is only one place the matter is decided -- the marketplace. And the market has already decided that it doesn't care about electric cars. Nobody wants them at any price.
May 27, 2009 11:49 PM | flag a problem
db says:
I'll support electric vehicles when America stops generating electricity from fossil fuels. As far as I am concerned their is no inherent right to drive any kind of car. It would be better to encourage Americans to use public transportation.
May 27, 2009 11:52 PM | flag a problem
Frank Chavez says:
I love this article , because it show the fascism that comes with green thinking. The best quote is this one "So if not Obama, and co, who'd be better fit to make the call?"
It's interesting to me is that If Obama can't save us who will. You should remember what state Obama come from. Where pay to play is everything. I you want your battery endorse by the government,you give a few bucks to my campaign fund or in Obama's case you help me buy my house. Its a big fraud in the making. Electric cars will come to the market some day. We are heading in that direction. Don't dream about God 2.0 (Obama) to bring heaven on earth.
May 28, 2009 1:23 AM | flag a problem
Juan says:
Jeff is completely correct. The key is externalities. Corporate pollution is an externality that the cap and trade pollution tax will address. Polluters will become less profitable, hopefully.
Buyer's decisions can have externalities, too, particularly when specialized expertise is concerned. For instance, if we were all to vote on moon-rocket designs, chances are our voted collective choice would not make it off the ground. Similarly, ordinary buyers know nothing of aerodynamics and they prefer 'styled' bodies rather than 'aerodynamic' bodies. The resulting market inefficiency means that half the gas we use to move our cars from place to place is wasted just pushing air out of the way. Aerodynamic vehicles with government mandated low coefficients of drag would reduce the deficit significantly and end our dependence upon middle-eastern oil. All it is is bending the sheet metal right. Bigger cars get better, far better, gas mileage. See www.aerocivic.com for an example. All our cars should be aerodynamic as soon as possible so we can stop wasting so much fuel. Top speeds would increase. We need to add boat tails, belly pans, and enclose open wheel wells. The bodies could be heavier and still get better mileage. It ain't rocket science.
May 28, 2009 2:59 AM | flag a problem
Ross Nicholson says:
Having someone play GOD is a refreshing change from decades of White House dwellers who played SATAN.
May 28, 2009 3:05 AM | flag a problem
Joe says
I personally like the idea of having a contest and perhaps fund the best 3 or 5 ideas and concepts presented. It seems to have worked pretty well with the solar car and house concept, and the unmanned rocket program, so give it a try! I also like the idea of the Million Solar Roof project in California. The government could agree to underwrite a million solar systems to get the volume pricing and then make them available to those who are interested at a very reasonable rate thru banks, S & Ls, and credit unions. Let people finance their solar system like they do their mortgage, over 20 years. Several cities are already doing that for their residents and collecting payments each month along with the water and garbage bills. The solar system adds value to the house and when its sold the solar mortgage is sold right along with the deed to the house. It would support solar businesses, create solar employment, and kickstart the renewable energy initiatives.
Set Your Computer for Energy Savings
Set Your Computer for Energy Savings
Did you know your computer has energy saving settings built in? Utilize them with these tips.
By Jaymi Heimbuch
Santa Maria, CA, USA | Wed Nov 19 09:00:00 EST 2008
READ MORE ABOUT:
Computers | Energy | Laptops | Phantom Power | Saving Energy | Technology
There is a wide range of power-saving software that helps reduce the amount of energy your PC consumes. And yet, your computer is already equipped with power saving settings you can utilize. Try out these tips to set your computer for maximum energy savings.
For PCs:
First, right click on the desktop and select Properties. Then turn off your screen saver. Sounds strange, to be sure. But the screen saver actually doesn't save energy—it keeps your computer running at full power, rather than slipping to sleep. Next, go to your control panel in the start menu and select power options. Set your computer to go to standby after 15 minutes, your monitor and hard disks to shut off after 5 minutes.
For Macs:
Click on the Apple icon and go to System Preferences. Under Hardware, select Energy Saver. Here you can adjust power supply settings for Better Energy Savings. You can adjust the timing for sleep mode for the computer and monitor similar to the steps for a PC.
For Notebooks:
It is also important to use a power save scheme on laptops, which allows you to adjust the screen brightness, display options, and sleep mode timing for further energy savings when you're unplugged from your charger. These settings are also available in the power options area.
Helpful Websites:
Yale.edu has a helpful section that walks you through screenshots of adjusting the settings on your computer to maximize power.
Energy Star also has a range or resources for saving energy on your computer.
Extra Steps:
Turn your computer off at night.
Plug components into a power strip so you can cut off all power when not in use.
For laptops, unplug the charger when the laptop is turned off to prevent vampire power.
Avoid turning your printer on when you don't need it.
If you'd like to do more with your computer energy savings, check out downloadable power saving software, some of which also track your carbon savings. Find out more information about making your computer efficient.
I have a comment to make about this article. I am all for saving energy but I donate my computer when I am away from it or sleeping to the BOINC program that uses distributed computing to look for cancer cures. I allowed them to put a small computational program on my computer that crunches numbers for them and sends it to the University of California, Berkely. It takes small chunks of data and crunches them in the background as I use my computer too. I have been doing this for the past 5 years or so and have had NO problems with this program. The Miami-Dade School Board has approximately 20,000 computers that could be utilized for the BOINC program too, after the kids have left school, and no longer are using them. I would be willing to wager that there are HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of computers in school districts all over the world that could be utilized for this endeavor. Think about how many numbers could be crunched then! It would be like a super-computer! And that idea isn't even taking into consideration how many corporate and governmental computers could be utilized. There are several programs similar to BOINC that can be used for the benefit of mankind. One is a climate prediction program that is intended to help predict future weather for farmers, etc. There's about a dozen research projects that are associated with this concept of distributed computing from established and credentialed university research programs.
I mentioned this idea to the IT guy here at school and he said he would be willing to propose it to his boss but there is a cost associated with leaving the computers on all night. For years all the school computers were left on all night, so it should be easy to tell exactly how much is being saved by turning them off at night by subtracting current bills from old bills. I wonder what that cost would be, as the cost of energy is considerably less during the night.
Perhaps this could be a government grant to different School Boards to pay for the energy used. Or perhaps the Universities themselves could fund X amounts of distributed computing for X amount of computers as a part of their research programs. I wonder how many military computers aren't used after hours?
I recently saw something where virtual computers, up to 36 of them, could be operated off one mainframe at a fraction of the energy cost. perhaps that's something that could be utilized for this project.
Did you know your computer has energy saving settings built in? Utilize them with these tips.
By Jaymi Heimbuch
Santa Maria, CA, USA | Wed Nov 19 09:00:00 EST 2008
READ MORE ABOUT:
Computers | Energy | Laptops | Phantom Power | Saving Energy | Technology
There is a wide range of power-saving software that helps reduce the amount of energy your PC consumes. And yet, your computer is already equipped with power saving settings you can utilize. Try out these tips to set your computer for maximum energy savings.
For PCs:
First, right click on the desktop and select Properties. Then turn off your screen saver. Sounds strange, to be sure. But the screen saver actually doesn't save energy—it keeps your computer running at full power, rather than slipping to sleep. Next, go to your control panel in the start menu and select power options. Set your computer to go to standby after 15 minutes, your monitor and hard disks to shut off after 5 minutes.
For Macs:
Click on the Apple icon and go to System Preferences. Under Hardware, select Energy Saver. Here you can adjust power supply settings for Better Energy Savings. You can adjust the timing for sleep mode for the computer and monitor similar to the steps for a PC.
For Notebooks:
It is also important to use a power save scheme on laptops, which allows you to adjust the screen brightness, display options, and sleep mode timing for further energy savings when you're unplugged from your charger. These settings are also available in the power options area.
Helpful Websites:
Yale.edu has a helpful section that walks you through screenshots of adjusting the settings on your computer to maximize power.
Energy Star also has a range or resources for saving energy on your computer.
Extra Steps:
Turn your computer off at night.
Plug components into a power strip so you can cut off all power when not in use.
For laptops, unplug the charger when the laptop is turned off to prevent vampire power.
Avoid turning your printer on when you don't need it.
If you'd like to do more with your computer energy savings, check out downloadable power saving software, some of which also track your carbon savings. Find out more information about making your computer efficient.
I have a comment to make about this article. I am all for saving energy but I donate my computer when I am away from it or sleeping to the BOINC program that uses distributed computing to look for cancer cures. I allowed them to put a small computational program on my computer that crunches numbers for them and sends it to the University of California, Berkely. It takes small chunks of data and crunches them in the background as I use my computer too. I have been doing this for the past 5 years or so and have had NO problems with this program. The Miami-Dade School Board has approximately 20,000 computers that could be utilized for the BOINC program too, after the kids have left school, and no longer are using them. I would be willing to wager that there are HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of computers in school districts all over the world that could be utilized for this endeavor. Think about how many numbers could be crunched then! It would be like a super-computer! And that idea isn't even taking into consideration how many corporate and governmental computers could be utilized. There are several programs similar to BOINC that can be used for the benefit of mankind. One is a climate prediction program that is intended to help predict future weather for farmers, etc. There's about a dozen research projects that are associated with this concept of distributed computing from established and credentialed university research programs.
I mentioned this idea to the IT guy here at school and he said he would be willing to propose it to his boss but there is a cost associated with leaving the computers on all night. For years all the school computers were left on all night, so it should be easy to tell exactly how much is being saved by turning them off at night by subtracting current bills from old bills. I wonder what that cost would be, as the cost of energy is considerably less during the night.
Perhaps this could be a government grant to different School Boards to pay for the energy used. Or perhaps the Universities themselves could fund X amounts of distributed computing for X amount of computers as a part of their research programs. I wonder how many military computers aren't used after hours?
I recently saw something where virtual computers, up to 36 of them, could be operated off one mainframe at a fraction of the energy cost. perhaps that's something that could be utilized for this project.
Did You Know Saving Water = Saving Electricity?
Did You Know Saving Water = Saving Electricity?
Save water by saving electricity; save electricity by saving water. Increase the savings by saving!
By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Tue May 26 13:00:00 EDT 2009
READ MORE ABOUT:
Electricity | Green Your Electricity | Saving Energy | Water | Water Conservation
We live in an interconnected world. A butterfly flaps its wings in Mongolia and a philosophy student ponders about that sort of thing in Spokane. See? Interconnected. As our technology and thoughts about butterflies advance, so does our interconnectedness.
One of our aims at the Planet Green website, is to try and provide people with tips and tricks for saving energy and water. Usually, we round up little household hints about how to save electricity or H2O. Most of the time we speak as if these two things were separate beasts. What you may not know is that saving electricity and saving water are actually the same thing.
How Do Shorter Showers Save Electricity?
You might not equate shower-usage with electricity usage. In fact, you’ve been told 1,000 times in your life to keep electrical devices away from the shower. But taking a shower uses electricity. A hot water heater may consume a fifth of your home's electricity and if you pump your own water from a well, that's a double whammy. But the water-related electricity you use around the house pales in comparison to the amount of energy used by the water companies.
In California, water treatment, storage and transportation accounts for 19% of the state's electricity usage. The good news is that saving water is cheaper and easier than saving electricity.
From the Guardian:
"Some of the cheapest greenhouse gas emission reductions available seem to be not energy-efficiency programs, but water-efficiency programs," said Gleick, president of the California-based Pacific Institute, a global water research center.
How Does Turning off the Lights Save Water?
Electricity uses more water than all the showers combined.
From Power Scorecard:
Most electric power plants require water to operate. Nuclear and fossil fuel power plants drink over 185 billion gallons of water per day. Geothermal power plants add another 2 billion or so gallons a day. Hydropower plants use water directly to generate power. These power plants represent the single largest consumer of water among any industrial, governmental or residential activity. Since 98 percent of the water used in power plants is returned to its source, distinctions are made between use and consumption.
These plants also de-water ecosystems and disrupt wildlife. They also pollute the air which is why we are trying to save the energy in the first place. A great way to conserve water is to decrease the need for so much electricity.
What You Can Do
Don't make a distinction between saving water and saving energy. Just because you live in a state with a lot of rainfall doesn’t mean you’re off the hook in terms of water conservation. And if you want to reduce greenhouse emissions, saving water may be the best way to do it. Everything is interconnected
Save water by saving electricity; save electricity by saving water. Increase the savings by saving!
By Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Tue May 26 13:00:00 EDT 2009
READ MORE ABOUT:
Electricity | Green Your Electricity | Saving Energy | Water | Water Conservation
We live in an interconnected world. A butterfly flaps its wings in Mongolia and a philosophy student ponders about that sort of thing in Spokane. See? Interconnected. As our technology and thoughts about butterflies advance, so does our interconnectedness.
One of our aims at the Planet Green website, is to try and provide people with tips and tricks for saving energy and water. Usually, we round up little household hints about how to save electricity or H2O. Most of the time we speak as if these two things were separate beasts. What you may not know is that saving electricity and saving water are actually the same thing.
How Do Shorter Showers Save Electricity?
You might not equate shower-usage with electricity usage. In fact, you’ve been told 1,000 times in your life to keep electrical devices away from the shower. But taking a shower uses electricity. A hot water heater may consume a fifth of your home's electricity and if you pump your own water from a well, that's a double whammy. But the water-related electricity you use around the house pales in comparison to the amount of energy used by the water companies.
In California, water treatment, storage and transportation accounts for 19% of the state's electricity usage. The good news is that saving water is cheaper and easier than saving electricity.
From the Guardian:
"Some of the cheapest greenhouse gas emission reductions available seem to be not energy-efficiency programs, but water-efficiency programs," said Gleick, president of the California-based Pacific Institute, a global water research center.
How Does Turning off the Lights Save Water?
Electricity uses more water than all the showers combined.
From Power Scorecard:
Most electric power plants require water to operate. Nuclear and fossil fuel power plants drink over 185 billion gallons of water per day. Geothermal power plants add another 2 billion or so gallons a day. Hydropower plants use water directly to generate power. These power plants represent the single largest consumer of water among any industrial, governmental or residential activity. Since 98 percent of the water used in power plants is returned to its source, distinctions are made between use and consumption.
These plants also de-water ecosystems and disrupt wildlife. They also pollute the air which is why we are trying to save the energy in the first place. A great way to conserve water is to decrease the need for so much electricity.
What You Can Do
Don't make a distinction between saving water and saving energy. Just because you live in a state with a lot of rainfall doesn’t mean you’re off the hook in terms of water conservation. And if you want to reduce greenhouse emissions, saving water may be the best way to do it. Everything is interconnected
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