Energy Vampires?!? - Stop the Energy Drain

Halloween might be over but you could still have vampires hanging around your house and they are not looking for candy. We are talking about your electronics that could be draining energy without you really knowing it. They are referred to as energy vampires. These are items that although they are turned “off” still are using energy. Does your microwave have a clock on it? How about your gaming system, TV or your computer? These are all drawing energy even though they are not actively being used.

Identifying energy vampires is fairly easy. Ask: Is it plugged in? Does it have some sort of display (clock, channel number, or any other light on it)? Is it something that charges batteries? Does it have a remote control? If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, it is probably using energy without you realizing it.

Now that we have identified the vampires, how do we combat them? Sorry, garlic and a cross are not going to work in this case but there are some very simple things you can do. First, if you need to replace any of these items, look to see if there is an ENERGY STAR certified version. This will decrease your overall energy usage. Second, for items that are being charged, make sure to unplug them once they are fully charged. Third, unplug items not in use. This is the difficult one as there are some items you just don’t want to unplug completely. If you have a cable box that has to go through a full reboot after you plug it back in, it might not be something you want to do. On the other hand, if you are going away for a week, save the energy and unplug it. There are also smart power strips that allow you to control your appliances remotely.

Okay, this all sounds great but how much can I really save? The US Department of Energy estimates that in an average home about 10% of the energy usage is due to vampire appliances and electronics. That can add up over the course of a year. Here are a few of the top vampires with the average of how much energy they consume in standby mode:

TV – 145 kWh

Stereo System – 128 kWh

Cable Box – 128 kWh

Router – 102 kWh

Printer – 70 kWh

DVD player – 59 kWh

Microwave – 26 kWh

What can you turn off in your home to start saving energy and money? For more tips on energy saving visit energystar.gov or the Air King website at www.airkinglimited.com

Reduce your carbon footprint – 10 easy steps to take today.

A lot has been written about carbon footprints and reducing the impact we have on the environment. While living “off the grid” might not be something all of us can do, there are some easy steps we can all take to reduce the impact our daily lives have on the environment. The added bonus is that most of these also save us money in the process. Here are ten:

1. Adjust your thermostat 2 degrees (up in the summer, down in the winter). It will lower your energy bill and reduce up to 500 lbs. of Greenhouse Gases (GHGS) per year.
2. Perform regular maintenance on your vehicles. Your car will drive better and save up to 800 lbs. of GHGS per year.
3. Reduce your driving by 20 miles a week. Do you have an opportunity to car pool? Can you take one car instead of two to the kid’s game? You will save on your gas bill and up to 1,000 lbs. of GHGS per year.
4. Reduce your kilowatt-hour usage by 20 per month. Does every light in the house need to be on at all times? You will save on your electric bill and up to 200 lbs. of GHGS per year.
5. Enable the power saver feature on your computer and monitor. A simple setting that can save up to 100 lbs. of GHGS per year.
6. Run your dishwasher only when full. This is one that has multiple benefits, you save water and energy, which save money and saves up to 100 lbs. of GHGS per year.
7. Wash clothes in cold water. Save the energy needed to heat the water being used and save up to 200 lbs. of GHGS per year.
8. Replace your incandescent bulbs. By investing in LED or CFL light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent bulbs, you can greatly reduce your energy usage saving up to 40 lbs. of GHGS per bulb per year.
9. Recycle. Recycling is something that is easy and in a lot of areas required. By recycling aluminum, steel, plastic, glass and paper, you can reduce up to 1,300 lbs. of GHGS per year.
10. Reuse. Even better that recycling, is reusing. Do you need a new bottle of water each time you leave the house or can you use a refillable one? The paper bag you pack your lunch can be recycled but what about a reusable container?

As you can see, some very easy and mostly free steps can greatly reduce your impact on the environment. Now here is the challenge – how many of these are you going to start doing today? For more tips and information visit www.airkinglimited.com

GHGS calculations courtesy of www.epa.gov