Different computer monitors use vastly different amounts of electricity.
*Based on PG&E average commercial rate of $0.16528 per kilowatt hour
**Using power-management setting
Source: Climate Savers Computing Initiative; Chronicle research
Above is a chart that shows how much power can be saved by using a power management setting on your LCD monitor. By using the power management setting, you can reduce energy usage by up to 90%.
If you use Windows XP or other forms of Windows, you can modify the screen saver settings like this:
Right click on the background display and click on Properties. You will get a Display Properties box
Here, you can choose to use a blank screen saver or any other screen savers you choose. Keep in mind that a blank screen saver can save the most energy because using a graphics screen saver can use just as much energy as not using a screen saver. If you click on the “Power” button, you can choose more power options such as turning off the monitor, hard disks, system standy and hibernate.
Here are the settings that I have on my home computer. You should definitely have the settings turned on for turning off the monitor and hard disks after a certain amount of time. If you tend to leave your computer on for a long time, it is also a good idea to enable the system standby and hibernate mode.
In the Hibernate tab, you should have the “Enable Hibernation” button checked.
Here is the difference between hibernation vs Standby mode.
Hibernate saves the system information by writing a hibernation file that contains the contents of the memory (RAM) and is basically a snapshot of the active state and then pretty much turns the computer off. When you come out of hibernation, the previous active state is restored to the way it was before the hibernation.
Standby turns off the power consuming components such as the hard disks and monitor and puts the computer in a low power state.
There are pros and cons to both as Hibernate can take longer to come back up but it is almost like turning off your computer. Standby mode still uses some power but your computer comes back up a lot faster.
As for purchasing computers, there are several websites that can help provide resources for finding energy efficient computers such as the nonprofit Climate Savers Computing Initiative and EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool). EPEAT awards bronze, silver, and gold ratings to computers and monitors based on different environmental criterias.
Yahoo has a couple videos giving laundry and kitchen advice about saving money and being green. When you choose the washing cycles for your washing machine, the type of water you choose can make a difference in energy efficiency. If you use the cold/cold setting, you can save up to 90% of the energy used to wash your clothes as opposed to using the hot/cold setting. If you use the warm/cold setting, you still save 50%. Of course you should usually save up for a load but also not overload the washer and don’t forget to clean the lint filter.
As for drying your clothes, you can save up to $10 a month by line drying your clothes instead of using the drying machine. Majority of households in Asia actually don’t own drying machines because everyone line drys their clothes. This can save space as living spaces in Asia are limited. It can also be due to costs as it saves electricity and actually buying a dryer. If you can do it for free, why pay? Hang drying your clothes can also be better for your clothes as it won’t shrink them and will allow the colors to stay more brighter.
Some tips for the kitchen can also help reduce electricity costs. Always run your dishwasher fully loaded. Did you know that using the dishwasher can actually use less water than handwashing your dishes? Dishwashers use about 4-6 gallons of water and between 1-2 kWh of electricity. A study from four years ago from the University of Bonn found that the average hand washer used about 27 gallons of water. Of course it can all vary depending on how you wash your dishes. Here is a followup study done in 2007. The best thing about the dishwasher is that you can fill it up with dishes and start it when its full and can save you a lot more time than hand washing your dishes after every meal.
Hopefully everyone should already know the pros and cons of incandescent light bulbs by now, yes they are the cheapest bulbs to buy, but 70-80% of the heat prduced by the bulb is wasted to produce the heat as opposed to producing light. Some of the alternatives to using incandescent light bulbs are fluorescent bulbs, CFLs, Halogens, LEDs, and dimmers. The incandescent light bulb is suppose to be phased out of the U.S. market in 2012 under a energy law. New Zealand and Australia have even stricter regulations in place to phase out incandescents by 2010. Fluorescent light bulbs used magnetic ballasts that regulate the flow of electrical current through the tubes, were the first generation of energy-efficient bulbs but had problems such as humming sounds, werent dimmable and had harsh colors. The new choice is CFL or compact fluorescent light, uses gas and ultraviolet light with a white phosphor coating on the tube to produce the lighting. CFLs acn save 75% of the energy as incandescents and can also last 15 times as long. The problem with CFLs, however is that they contain mercury, a hazardous waste, meaning that the bulbs should not be tossed in the trash and need to be brought into CFL recycling places such as Ikea.
Halogens are a type of incandescent bulb but it uses 20% less energy and can last 3 times as long as a regular incandescent light bulb. At one point in time, everyone was using halogen lamps as they were nice and bright but then they became fire hazards since the bulb gets extremely hot. Fires got started from the bulbs and people stopped using them but now that being energy efficient is more important, we may see more people going back to using halogen lamps once again.
Below is a list of the pros and cons from the SFGate article.
Incandescent bulb
Pros: Traditional lightbulb introduced by Thomas Alva Edison in the 1880s is probably in your home right now, providing diffuse, warm light.
Cons: Inefficient. Under fire because of state and federal regulations that stipulate more efficient lighting.
Worth noting: Roughly 80 percent of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb goes to produce heat rather than light.
Price: $1 or less per bulb.
CFL
Pros: Compact fluorescent light, the newest fluorescent choice, uses as much as 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb and lasts as much as 15 times as long. Some are dimmable and don’t hum, buzz or flicker.
Cons: Can have a greenish, bluish cast to the light. Fluorescent lights contain mercury, a hazardous waste, which California bans from landfills, meaning you can’t just toss them into the trash or recycling bin.
Worth noting: Lighting designer Randall Whitehead recommends the CFL line from Technical Consumer Products, which he says mimics the warmer hue of an incandescent.
Price: TCP bulbs cost $3.80-$13.
Halogen
Pros: A type of incandescent bulb that uses about 20 percent less energy – and lasts roughly three times as long – as a traditional incandescent. Clean, bright white light.
Cons: Extremely hot compared with a traditional incandescent and must be kept at least 6 inches from flammable materials.
Worth noting: Direct, rather than diffuse light, which makes halogen lights better suited to task lighting.
Prices: A 75-watt “double envelope” bulb made by Westinghouse costs about $10.
LEDs
Pros: Energy-efficient light-emitting diodes last as long as 50,000 hours. (That’s 17 years if the lights are turned on for eight hours a day.) They come in an incredible variety of colors.
Cons: Lack of availability and relatively high cost.
Worth noting: Have been used for years in home appliances, traffic lights, etc. They emit negligible ultraviolet light and provide sharp, focused light.
Price: GE MR-16 (mirror reflective) is $10.
Dimmers
Pros: Prolong the life of a bulb and are required in new home construction in California under Title 24.
Cons: None.
Worth noting: Lighting experts advise using bulbs that can be dimmed (look at the bulb packaging) with dimmable fixtures.
Price: Do-it-yourself dimmer plates can be found for less than $6
The stock market recently has been such a roller coaster ride as recession fears are all over the place. There most likely will not be a big scale recession but there may be a minor one until election rolls around. There is no better time to become green than during a recession! Trying to save money is always a good thing but especially good when the economy is not doing so well. Changing out those light bulbs and consciously saving electricity can make a difference to your electricity bill. When you leave the house, you can also remember to turn off the heater or leave it at a lower temperature. Turning off your monitor instead of having it go to screensaver and having your computer go to sleep instead of leaving it on is another good suggestion for saving electricity. The Edison Electric Institute has some good tips on saving electricity in your home. It has tips for the kitchen, laundry, water heating, lighting, insulation, heating, air conditioning, and outside your home.
Here is a video from Treehugger showing the effects of leaving appliances and electronics plugged into wall outlets. What I don’t get is why there aren’t more power surge protectors or gadgets that will kill the power to an outlet with a button. There are adapters that plug into outlets that have a light switch that you can turn on and off, but I haven’t really seen power surges that work the same way. The only ones I know of are here.
