Comments on: Who Saved Watt?! http://blog.markturansky.com/archives/57 software architecture & engineering, code hints, sometimes philosophy, photography, life, etc. Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:51:38 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Robert Cadena http://blog.markturansky.com/archives/57/comment-page-1#comment-328 Robert Cadena Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:15:42 +0000 http://blog.markturansky.com/archives/57#comment-328 Changing to CFs is a great idea. Another good power saving tip is to *unplug* as many of your appliances as possible. This is easy if you put all your appliances on powerstrips that have power switches. Why? Because even when your TV is "off" it's still using up electricity so that you can turn it on with that remote control. Same goes for pretty much anything that is remote controlled. Other things that are not remote controlled are also on while idle. Take, for example, my toaster. This sucker is on just so that it can show its little cylon-like temperature led. My coffee maker sucks up juice just to power a clock I can't even see because it's covered with coffee grounds. So I put all those guys on power strips and when I'm done using them or watching TV I just flip the switch. Turn off your monitor, don't let it enter power safe mode; it's still using energy. Avoid screen savers too! They just keep your monitor consuming power. Turning off our appliances when we are not using has cut a third from our electricity bill ... I'll have to get back to you on the exact amount. I live with my wife in a small house in LA, so our power needs are very small. The percentage off your bill will vary based on the size of your house and the number of people in it, so the impact may not seem as large to you, but it's still a good thing to do because every little bit helps. Changing to CFs is a great idea. Another good power saving tip is to *unplug* as many of your appliances as possible. This is easy if you put all your appliances on powerstrips that have power switches.

Why? Because even when your TV is “off” it’s still using up electricity so that you can turn it on with that remote control. Same goes for pretty much anything that is remote controlled. Other things that are not remote controlled are also on while idle. Take, for example, my toaster. This sucker is on just so that it can show its little cylon-like temperature led. My coffee maker sucks up juice just to power a clock I can’t even see because it’s covered with coffee grounds. So I put all those guys on power strips and when I’m done using them or watching TV I just flip the switch. Turn off your monitor, don’t let it enter power safe mode; it’s still using energy. Avoid screen savers too! They just keep your monitor consuming power.

Turning off our appliances when we are not using has cut a third from our electricity bill … I’ll have to get back to you on the exact amount. I live with my wife in a small house in LA, so our power needs are very small. The percentage off your bill will vary based on the size of your house and the number of people in it, so the impact may not seem as large to you, but it’s still a good thing to do because every little bit helps.

]]> By: Matt Passell http://blog.markturansky.com/archives/57/comment-page-1#comment-321 Matt Passell Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:13:59 +0000 http://blog.markturansky.com/archives/57#comment-321 Thanks! Cool idea. It's pretty amazing that in a moderate-size house (by American standards), you can save almost a kW by just swapping out light bulbs. We're saving ~850W according to your site. Thanks! Cool idea. It’s pretty amazing that in a moderate-size house (by American standards), you can save almost a kW by just swapping out light bulbs. We’re saving ~850W according to your site.

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