Afraid of Vampires? You Should Be. Energy Draining Appliances Could be Costing You a Fortune 06/30/2011
Which electronic appliance do you think uses the most energy in your home? The air conditioner? The refrigerator? Guess again. It’s your cable or satellite DVR set-top box, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report, “Reducing the National Energy Consumption of Set-Top Boxes.” Hard to imagine, but it’s true. This is because today’s cable boxes are basically running at full power all the time, even when switched off.
Vampire Electronics Are Costly for U.S. Households
Approximately 80 % of U.S. homes have set-top boxes, and in 2010, they consumed approximately 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity or the annual output of nine average coal-fired power plants. To think of it in another way, it’s equal to the annual household electricity consumption of the state of Maryland. The report estimates it costs households more than $3 billion each year to operate these devices.
What’s the Solution?
Unfortunately, these devices are a necessary evil in today’s world of entertainment technology. And right now, there isn’t a real solution to combat these silent energy suckers.
The report proposes that cable, satellite, etc. companies provide energy-efficient boxes that operate in low-power mode when switched off or comply with ENERGY STAR version 4.0 requirements, but this will only happen if consumers or the government demand it. And, this will take time.
What You Can Do
When you leave the house for long periods of time, like for vacation, disconnect your set-top box. This is also true for many other common household appliances, including your TVs, stereos, computers, monitors, and even your phone chargers – they are silently sucking electricity even when they’re not in use. Over time, this can significantly increase your electric bill. So, whenever possible, disconnect the devices you’re not using so that you don’t incur vampire electricity charges.
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