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.
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On the Net:
California Energy Commission: http://www.energy.ca.gov
Doing these 2 things ha saved me almost $400 a year.
"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."
Is she your "ex" because of this or did she "lose her head" the last time she stuck her wet head out the window!
The problem is that manufacturers will not redesign for California alone. Also, who is to say that this is feasible at all? Have they had a team of electronic engineers go into each and every design and show that the device could be made more efficient? How long will it take to implement this plan? What will the electrical demand be then? What about the electric cars that the envirowackos think will be the panacea to the pollution and oil problems? A modest 50 hp motor needs 37.5 kilowatts of power continuously. To quick charge the batteries you will need to draw at least 100 kw.
They are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
That only works if you turn off the engine, put the transmission in neutral and let the car coast down a very long hill. Otherwise the extra wind resistance will detract from your gas mileage.
The train batteries are PowerSonic gel cells. The problem is the regulator/charger selected by the manufacturer of the bearing generator will not pass any power if the battery drops below 10.7 volts. That includes recharging. I have to take a charger into the field and go straight to the battery terminals.
The system was designed to operate continuously. In practice, the coal cars get placed on a siding for extended periods of time when the demand for coal drops. Mild weather is usually the reason. The cars wake up every 24 hours to perform a GPS fix and report location, then immediately shutdown again. The problem is that there isn't an infinite amount of power available to do that. The cars have been left for so long that the batteries end up on the lower margin of viability. I have the PIC controller monitoring the battery and denying permission to boot if the voltage is under 10.7 volts. That has helped considerably in preventing total discharge of the batteries. I'm looking into addition of a solar cell to trickle charge the battery when the car is left on a siding for an extended period. Finding a safe spot on a coal car is no simple task. The coal chute drops 110 tons of coal into the car. There is invariably some material hitting tops and edges.
When all the power is gone I will have made sure that I have used more than my share!
To hell with conservation as long as I pay the bill!
The ones that will suck up and pay it are libs. Make money off them.
What knockers! (Young Fronk-en-steen)
That's the incandescent bulbs I believe you are mentioning I have those in my kitchen and bathroom. I was looking for the compact fluorescents which use a standard base and have their own ballast, they are about 8 bucks a piece. The compact fluorescents in the stores now have a low color quality score.
I have some 4' florescent lights that are full spectrum in addition to using Reveal incandescent full spectrum. In general, the correct fluorescents will put out a better full spectrum light than the incandescent Reveal and it's competitors.
http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/light_bulbs.shtml
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