We are trying to cut our electrical use given the cost of energy …
We already have swaped in compact fluorescent everywhere possible, and task light only where we happen to be … Our fridge and freezer and air conditioner are the best we could find energy star-wise…
What is the best non high def television? Is there a website that compares appliances? We dont need anything fancy, just the basic and not larger than 19 to 22 inches. I know that appliances use energy even when turned off, would it be damaging to a tv and dvd to simply have them unplugged when we arent using them? I dont care if I have to reset the clock every time i plug them in, I know how to set a vcr=)
If you look for the Energy Star logo, you can be reasonably confident that what you’re buying is energy efficient and uses less than a watt of power when off but plugged in. Really, most things nowadays, with the exception of CRT TVs and monitors, use relatively little standby power anyway–typically less than 3-5 watts. Even with today’s energy prices, that amounts to literally pennies a day. You’re better off getting energy efficient major appliances, particularly refrigerators and washer/dryers. these are, naturally, more expensive at the outset, but they’ll save you a significant amount on energy costs. Likewise, adding more insulation or installing thermal windows will go farther in reducing energy costs than the trifling amount you get from turning lights on only when you need them–particularly if you’re mostly using CFLs.
We already have the most efficient major appliances we can get, and have worked on the insulation, windows and the doors are getting replaced shortly … now I am working on the lesser tidbits =) though frequently we heat with wood in the winter as we have a woodlot so the cost is way diminished compared to fuel oil!
I’ve heard that high-def TVs suck more power than regular ones when not plugged in.
So what we do at my place is this - our TV and our DVD player are plugged into a power strip, and when we’re not using them, we turn the power strip off. I’m not sure whether or not it’s made any difference, though.
As Q.E.D pointed out, this saves you pennies a day. You might save a whole dollar or two a year. Maybe. Personally, it’s not worth the hassle.
As for energy efficient TV’s, your best bet is to find an energy star labeled LCD. They might have a small one of those (19-22") that displays standard def. But most most likely it won’t cost you any less than an HD one. Might as well pick up one of those small HD Tv’s and make sure you set it to it’s power save mode (my LCD for example, has two off states, power saver and not. When in power saver mode it takes an extra second to turn on).
So just check out amazon or a similar retailer and look for the energy star symbol. I’ve seen widescreen 20" HDTV’s for under $250.
Just to give you an idea of just how lesser the tidbits are, the cost to run a 13-watt CFL (equivalent to the light output of a 60-watt incandescent) 24/7 amounts to about a dollar a month at the national average cost for electricity of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.
aruvqan asked a good honest question with some sound and easy answers. How do these posts help?
Kinthalis is correct, a small LCD designed for low power usage is the best bet. My Westinghouse 37" LCD panel uses far less than my 32" tube use to and my 19" LCD panel uses 33% of the energy that my 19" monitor used.
When shopping on line, you can almost always get the tech specs and compare the wattage of On and Off to other models. I try to do this when shopping for appliances now.
I tested my 42" Samsung plasma, IIRC it took like 8 watts when off and 260 watts when on. I was thinking of unplugging it when it was off, but 8 watts is only a dollar or two a year.
Thank you, and no thanks to those jackasses, i read a lot, but I also happen to enjoy movies and some tv programming. It costs a hell of a lot less to have cable in home than to always be renting movies, or going out to movies. Other than the expense of movies, there is the 20+ mile each way drive to consider as well.
And, god forfend either one of us loses a job, or both of us lose our jobs, minimizing the electricity and the electric BILLING is premier as we are on a well and have to use electricity to pump water.
unlike some people who get a windfall and blow it on random crap, I am trying to be as sensible as possible with an eye towards the future and unfortunately thanks to the jackasses in high finance we seem to be sliding into another great depression. I want to actually KEEP where we live and to do that, we need to be able to survive on minimal outgoing money for an indeterminate amount of time. Hence, minimizing the electrical use. We are in the market to replace our aged and very inefficient TV with something a lot more economical.
I think it’s a more complex calculation if you’re talking about replacing a working TV set (even an inefficient one) with a new one. You need to account for the cost of disposing of the old set, and the payback period on purchasing the new set, versus just using the old set.
Yes, it may only save you a few dollars a year. But if everyone does it, it adds up to a lot of power saved.
I saw someone (I think it was here on the Dope) say that they’d cut their electric bill by a small but definitely noticeable percentage by unplugging all their electronics when they weren’t in use.
I’m trying to do more of this, too. Good on ya, aruvqan!