Page 27 - Advanced Technology for Energy and Water Saving

HUNTING THE PHANTOM´ENERGY VAMPIRES

gathering historical data from devices such as the Wemo
Insight appears to be a work in progress, you can certainly HIDDEN BURDENS
get a daily report for each smart plug on a Wi-Fi network.
Certain devices tend to use power all the time,
MAKING IOT ENERGY-SMARTER even when they appear to be off.
One of the limitations to the new Internet of Things
“smart home” technology has been their reliance on Device Power Used
non-rechargeable batteries. Samsung’s “Smart Things” Treadmill 5.6 watts
initiative, for example, faced heavy criticism from
consumers when they discovered that different gadgets Fax machine 5.2 watts
would run out of battery power at different intervals.
European engineers have begun to solve this problem Printer 4.3 watts
with innovative ways to power small devices. EnVue, for Compact stereo 4.3 watts
example, offers many devices with integral photovoltaics.
Even the light from ambient overhead fixtures is often Tool charger 4.2 watts
enough to charge a device. It’s our expectation that most IoT
devices will soon switch to “battery-free” or rechargeable Battery charger 2.6 watts
battery-power sourcing.
TV, CRT (26-31 inches) 1.3 watts

ROOTING OUT HIDDEN POWER GLUTTONS Desktop computer 2.4 watts
Some household electronic items, of course, can’t simply
be “plugged in” to assess their power use. You may want to Modem 1.5 watts
find out, for example, whether the pumps for your water
boiler (or fans for your furnace) are using excessive energy. Scanner 1.5 watts
Older water pumps, for example, can use 400 watts or more Monitor 1.2 watts
to accomplish the same task as 40-watt e‘cient pumps.
What about those old ceiling fans? Do you leave them Laptop computers 0.7 watts
running all summer?
There is no “killer app” for measuring energy use for DVD player 0.4 watts
these items—at least, not yet. The best of the whole-house
energy monitors, such as European-made Smappee, have Hidden waste. This data from Minnesota Energy Smart found that
many common household electronics are constantly using energy.
trouble-tracking devices that use less than 30 watts. While
Smappee can identify and “hear” all the appliances and
bigger items in its energy analysis, it lumps all of the
phantom power devices together under stand-by power.
That doesn’t mean you’re helpless to halt phantom power
waste. Just do the math. Find the model and wattage of
those ceiling fans and water pumps, then figure out your
monthly electric cost. Replacing them may result in a
relatively fast payback period.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR ENERGY AND WATER CONSERVATION 27