Posted on 12/15/2004 8:25:41 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Phone rechargers, TVs, CD players, VCRs, and all those other appliances you plug into the wall and forget were called "energy vampires" Wednesday by state regulators, who voted to make them more efficient.
Proponents hope the world's first such regulations force others to the follow the lead of the most populous state. The new standards adopted by the California Energy Commission will be phased in starting in 2006.
Televisions, videocassette recorders and digital video disc players use two- to 10 watts even when they're turned off. California is requiring them to use one- to three watts.
Power adapters, also known as external power supplies - those little black boxes that power phones, razors, toothbrushes, computer components and a host of other ubiquitous appliances - often are warm to the touch, a sign they're wasting electricity by generating heat.
Even when they're not in use, they're drawing power. The California standards will require them to draw a half-watt or less.
The average California household has 10 to 20 of the devices that cost consumers up to $75 a year in wasted electricity, the commission calculated. It projects the regulations will save commercial and residential users more than $3 billion over 15 years.
Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, who chairs the commission's efficiency committee, said the standards mean the state can avoid building the equivalent of three new power plants in the next decade.
Once the standards are fully phased in by 2008, they'll save more electricity than is used by the 350,000-plus households in San Francisco, calculated the Natural Resources Defense Council, which promoted the regulations. The reduced demand on power plants, and a corresponding reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, is the equivalent of pulling 320,000 cars off California's crowded highways.
Commissioners adopted the regulations on a 5-0 vote after extensive negotiations with manufacturers in the U.S. and major supplier nations like China and Australia, said commission spokesman Rob Schlichting. The commission granted manufacturers' requests for delays in phasing in the requirements on some appliances, largely muting the opposition.
Pacific Gas & Electric backed the regulations on behalf of the utility industry, citing the savings to consumers, the environment and the power supply.
Among the appliances affected: incandescent lamps; audio and video equipment; residential pool pumps and portable electric spas; evaporative coolers; ceiling fans, exhaust fans and whole house fans; commercial ice makers, refrigerators and freezers; vending machines; commercial hot food holding cabinets and water dispensers.
"Consumers don't have to sacrifice anything. The soda will still be cold from the vending machine, the swimming pool pump will still circulate the water," said NRDC scientist Noah Horowitz. "We're substituting new, more efficient technologies ... rather than building new power plants."
The federal government already has adopted energy efficiency standards for different appliances, including residential refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers and other appliances. None of those is affected by the new state regulations.
---
On the Net:
California Energy Commission: http://www.energy.ca.gov
The only issue I have with that is the color of the light. I'm a blondish haired guy of primarily German ansestry and a German sized fellow who burns in 10 minutes of direct sunlight. I think I'm 10% vampire(mostly because I see the neck of nubile young women and I want to suck on it, but that's besides the point) but the real issue is I look deathly ill under those lamps. I really like those Reveal bulbs because they make me look human.
Do they really make a difference? I am willing to toss a couple of them around the house.
They do make a big difference. I use them in lights that are on a lot, like the lamp in the living room that's on a timer to make me look home.
The clocks in the nuker, stove, etc., draw about 5 watts, each.
Wall-warts are notoriously inefficient. Without a load, they still consume 40-60% of the rated output wattage.
The math is pretty simple - a 15 watt CFL gives equivalent light output to something like a 70 watt incandescent, because it isn't wasting power generating heat in addition to light. The bulbs are practically cool to the touch even after they've been running a while - and they don't heat up the room anymore. And forget buzzing or flickering - that's fluorescents from 30 years ago.
And, even better, they now have full-spectrum ("Reveal") compact fluorescents, which is what you're looking for.
They also last much longer. I was talking to somebody who moved recently - he unscrewed all his CFL bulbs and brought them with him, because they still had something like three years of life left. You save money both on the power consumption and on never having to replace them. I've replaced about 300 watts of incandescents so far with 75 watts of CFLs, so that's almost a quarter of a kilowatt saved every hour they're on. It'll also be nice not having to run the AC as hard in the summer to compensate for the heat from the lamps.
No kidding... I was looking into getting one of those new water saver clothes washing machines, and maybe a high efficiency dryer to go along with it... Then I saw the price tag. Those "saver" washers run nearly $1000! I'll stick with my 12 year old washing machine.
Mark
I also use the compact florescent bulbs where ever I can at home. I have some fixture that they simply won't fit into, and in my kitchen ceiling light fixture, I've got 1 incandescent and one florescent bulb. I really like them, however, I've seen that the advertised "brightness" is pretty optimistic. I find that to get the brightness of a 60 watt bulb, I need to use the 75 or 100 watt florescent equivalent (I don't remember the actual rating). When I tried using one of the 60 watt equivs, I found myself sitting in the dark. Well, at least "dim."
Mark
Don't give me any ideas. I'm so cheap I forced my ex-girlfriend to stick her head out of our moving car to dry her hair instead of running up our electric bill using a hair dryer.
I will have to try those Reveal CFL lights. I have the normal compact fluorescents bulbs everywhere except where color quality matters, they just give everything a ghastly yellow/red tinge. I haven't seen the Reveal ones yet are they available at Wal-Mart or Lowes?
Bureaucrats sitting around calculating how much all their new regulations will save us. Ah...what's wrong with that picture. After the great gas regulations that drive those prices higher than just about anywhere else in the country, I don't know if I can afford any more savings.
Listen folks, profit from their insanity. Invest in companies that manufacture these ultra low watt products.
No one in Ca is going to do without these things, Guaranteed automatic sells of millions of units over the next 4 years.
I'm not happy about the regulations but I am constantly marveling at the innovative ways that mankind finds to clean up after ourselves. I never even thought about all the devices I have plugged into my house. I rarely even think about turning off lights much less unplugging stuff. It is great that business is figuring out ways to conserve energy so I don't have to think about it.
Probably. And they're probably not 100% wrong. I would suspect that the increase in demand for efficient off-line switchers is going to cause more companies to develop inexpensive ones. There may be some market inertia, but I suspect there are some definite improvements to be made. That having been said, things like clock displays are going to use power regardless of the supply efficiency.
I haven't looked for them at the stores yet. I know you can order them online. Just check for "full spectrum" - that's the generic name for Reveal-types.
Not a chance in hell. There are 36 million people in California, or over 12% of the population of the entire United States. That's just too big of a market to ignore. If you want to talk about a market that's not worth the trouble, check out Wyoming.
Attention, citizen! You are in violation of Section 304 of the Mandatory Conservation Act of 2006! Surrender your electric pencil-sharpener at the nearest CalPower Reclamation Center!
;)
if you get a large dog with a big tongue from the pound for 25 bucks or so you never need to wipe your hands off on paper towels saving a fortune every year plus less space is used in the landfills :-)
Leaving your computer on is a mixed bag. Turning your computer on is the biggest stress that a great many of the internals of a computer, like your motherboard, sound card, and RAM chips ever face. On the other hand, running stresses other components like fans and power supplies, and these components benefit from turning your machine off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.