"Standby" surprising secrets, did you know this??

[rsaavedra]

Here's an article in the BBC News entitled "TV's 'sleep' button stands accused". Deals with the fact that standby mode on TVs and several other gadgets at homes in the UK adds up to quite a significant amount of energy basically gone wasted.


The article mentions a fact that is quite puzzling to me:
Quote:

"The CO2 emissions from electrical equipment being left on standby are equivalent to 1.4 million long-haul flights."

That is a statement which for me demands the infamous

emoticon.
CO2 emmisions from electrical equipment being left on??? I hope they are talking about CO2 produced by electricity-generating plants, whose electricity is used by those electrical equipment. Or do electrical equipment in operation produce CO2???? Believe it or not, I'm really puzzled about that statement in the article, since it doesn't clarify where those huge total amounts of CO2 from electrical equipment are exactly coming from.


Now another part of the article that surprised me:

Quote:

"Some of these standby modes for televisions use two-thirds of the electricity that it would if it were on. I think some people think that standby is a tiny red dot that has no impact at all. The Energy Saving Trust's survey found that one-in-seven people questioned thought putting devices on standby was actually more energy-efficient than switching them on and off.

Well, I understood keeping equipment in standby mode was better for extending the life of the device compared to fully turning it on and off frequently. Never thought [powered-on + standby] cycles would be more efficient than analogous [powered-on + powered-off] cycles. Now, what I totally didn't know was that a standby mode can consume as much as 2/3 of the powered on mode!!!! That is hugely inefficient if you asked me, would have never thought it was that much. Had I been asked, I would have guessed probably something below 10%.


Is anyone puzzled and/or surprised by these facts as much as I am?

 

[robzy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsaavedra Is anyone puzzled and/or surprised by these facts as much as I am?

Makes very little sense to me. Especially when it comes to CRT televisions and the like.

Rob.

 

[Elec]

I remember hearing this a while back and being quite surprised. I'm NOT surprised that standby power usage is higher than "off", since the whole point is to keep some juice flowing through the device to power it on more quickly. But I would have expected the efficiency to be a lot better.

My computer runs 24/7 as does my cable box and various clocks. I also leave a fluorescent light in my kitchen on when I'm at work so it's not completely dark when I come in. I'll stop doing that when the days get a bit longer. Everything else is OFF when not in use.

 

[aaroncort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsaavedra The article mentions a fact that is quite puzzling to me: That is a statement which for me demands the infamous emoticon. CO2 emmisions from electrical equipment being left on??? I hope they are talking about CO2 produced by electricity-generating plants, whose electricity is used by those electrical equipment. Or do electrical equipment in operation produce CO2???? Believe it or not, I'm really puzzled about that statement in the article, since it doesn't clarify where those huge total amounts of CO2 from electrical equipment are exactly coming from.

What the hell does that mean anyway? I hate it when editors don't do thier job.

 

[CookieFactory]

CRT monitors are hogs (relatively).

 

[Elec]

Yep, my 17" CRT served about 5 good years of double duty as a monitor/bedroom space heater

 

[aaroncort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elec Yep, my 17" CRT served about 5 good years of double duty as a monitor/bedroom space heater

No joke, I used to put packs of M&M's on top of my now 10 year old CRT so they would get melty in about 15 minutes.

 

[Illah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaroncort What the hell does that mean anyway? I hate it when editors don't do thier job.

It's the CO2 generated in the power plant - the electronics themselves don't produce CO2 in your house. There was an article a while back in Wired about the same phenomenon. To put it in perspective, given average use a plasma TV generates over 500 pounds of CO2 a year. SUV's can do over 30,000 pounds of CO2 each year...yes, that's 15 TONS of CO2 were all the gas converted to a solid.

Really changed my habits. I was already pretty green but now everything goes off all the time, even at work.

--Illah

 

[Edwood]

I agree, worrying about 5-10 watts here and there and hopping in an SUV to drive yourself down the street is like worrying about the calorie content in a Hershey's Kiss at home, and then going to McDonalds.

But food for thought, every single AC adapter in the home uses about 2-5 watts when doing absolutely nothing.

A few components that I use infrequently, I have them hooked up to a surge strip, where I can cut the power to them all when not using them. There is a trend of "smart" outlets and power strips that are able to detect a computer shutdown, and turn off periphial devices connected as well.

Pick your battles where you may, but if it's the environment you're worried about, and not your electricity bill, then put the out the fire in the house, and not the small pile of leaves on fire out front. (unless you tossed a mouse in there)

BTW, I don't drive an SUV, just my crappy little economy car. But mainly so I can afford my home and my toys.

-Ed

 

[cpw]

First heard about this when I was living in Switzerland (very green place).
They also turn off car engines at red lights there.

I'm all for conservation but my guess is that most people who turn the TV off completely are wasting as much or more somewhere else. Still, I guess it all helps.
CPW

 

[FalconP]

Badly-designed electric appliances, if left on the stand-by mode, constitues a fire hazard. There have been several cases of fires recently in Hong Kong that were thought to be caused by TV sets in stand-by.

 

[rickcr42]

how else can you be surveiled 24/7 if the video camera,microphone and transmitter has no power to run it ?

 

[JahJahBinks]

I have a UPS that can display power being drawn from it. With one of my computers in standy mode it actually draws more than when it is on. That's why I always leave it on 'hibernation' at night.

 

[JahJahBinks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 how else can you be surveiled 24/7 if the video camera,microphone and transmitter has no power to run it ?

I think some people would rather have those red light cameras removed.