It’s been a little while since my last save energy with one simple step post, and I thought it was time to resurrect it, so lo and behold, here is tip number 13 for you:
Tip 13 – Clock Off
Vampire power is quite a dramatic term for the energy that appliances and electrical goods use when they are plugged in but on stand-by. Most people get that leaving the TV or TV box on stand-by is a drain on energy but forget about the less obvious energy consumers, like their microwave.
I’ve written before that microwaves are great energy saving devices: and briefly mentioned how we need to remember to switch them off at the wall when you’re done, but I thought it would be good to expand on this today. I used to work in an office where the digital clock on the microwave was always on, yet there was a wall clock directly above the microwave, making the clock on the microwave completely redundant. I don’t think this is an uncommon situation: the Daily Green say “it its estimated that a typical microwave is on for 70 hours a year, but draws power for more than 100 times as long, to keep the clock and electronic controls powered“. One blogger found that in fact his microwave clock was consuming 25-30% of the power of the heating element of his microwave.
It’s quite a staggering amount of energy that could be saved with one simple flick of the switch – they don’t come much easier than that!
Good advice. It’s amazing how things like that all add up!
This is alarmist nonsense. Many Eco people are well-meaning, but have little grasp of physics.
I heard that a TV on standby uses up to 50% of the figure when on. That figure varies with the person in the pub who tells you this. I’m a tech and so I actually did the measurement. Mine was guzzling about half a watt. Of course, zero is better than even a half, integrated over time, but it’s important to get perspective.
My own daughter ( degree standard, ho, ho ) goes potty when I leave my radio on since it wastes electricity ( which she doesn’t offer to pay for even though she earns more than I do ) and then leaves a 60W light running all day. Go figure.
However, I hadn’t considered the standby consumption of the controller. Many are microprocessors which use negligible current themselves, but there may be associated circuitry which is up to no good. Worth a look.
However, IMO, the clock uses naff-all.
Now, there is one particularly nasty feature of microwaves you might be unaware of, which swallows power by the bucket-full and about which you can do little. The transformer which powers the magnetron is too small for the job and is inefficient. The reason is that the manufacturer saves a few pence per oven by skimping on the metal. This knackers the flux and requires more power for the same result. He doesn’t mind because you pay for that, not him. Nice one. I have oft pondered if it were possible to do something about that. Answers on a post-card……