Reducing Energy Consumption We have put together a few more energy-saving suggestions to help cut down on energy consumption, and to minimise the impact of the increased energy prices on our bills. Not only is reducing energy consumption good for the planet, it is good for our pockets too! This week’s focus is on “vampire energy”. Vampire energy is the energy consumed when electronic devices are in “standby” mode. Six of the top vampire energy devices in the home include: Gaming consoles such as Xbox, Playstation, etc. Televisions Surround sound systems Cable and satellite TV boxes Computers, and computer equipment such as modems, routers, etc. Household items with a clock, e.g. microwave This is a simple calculator site for estimating how much a household appliance costs in electricity over a day / month / year. https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/energy-cost-calculator.html You can input the average price of electricity to get a good estimate of the cost of the electricity use for the appliance. The approximate cost of one ‘unit’ or kWh [kilowatt hour] of electricity in Ireland currently is about 30c, inclusive of taxes, PSO levy and standing charges. While a little outdated, this American website is a handy way to work out the consumption of a wide range of gaming devices. Their page https://energyusecalculator.com/electricity_gameconsole.htm gives you a good indication of the energy consumption of gaming consoles while in use, and in standby mode. You can input the cost of electricity in Ireland, and patterns of use to work out the average annual cost of running these devices using their calculator. This is another useful website which gives information about standby power, including electricity measurements for different types of appliances. https://standby.lbl.gov The Irish website https://www.greenhome.ie was created by An Táisce. In addition to providing energy saving ideas and tips, it also hosts a ‘green home’ survey that allows you to calculate the energy efficiency of your home – there’s both a short and a long version. Registering, and completing the long survey will give you a baseline score of how sustainably you are running your home, in terms of waste, water, transport, as well as energy. The information from the survey helps people to change some of their habits, and to take steps to reduce their consumption. Using energy saving tips and advice people make changes in their home that reduces waste and consumption, and saves money. One major benefit of the survey is that after a couple of months of implementing the changes, people can log in and take the survey again, and comparing new with old, they can calculate how much they have improved in terms of sustainability. You can register for the long survey here: https://www.greenhome.ie/MainSurveyLanding The greenhome.ie website also has some great tips for saving energy in the kitchen on this page. https://www.greenhome.ie/Energy/How-to-make-your-home-more-energy-efficient-All-Around-the-House-In-the-Kitchen-Some-Tips-for-Saving-Energy
