Community Newsletter: Q&A: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics
- 1/30/08 12:54 AM
Flourecent myth.
by strickjh2005 - 1/20/08 10:45 AM In reply to: Low Consumption Electronics by SUPERSHELL"florescent lights lights are more efficient if they are left on most of the time rather than turning them on and off several times a day,"
When should I turn off standard fluorescent fixtures? It is a myth that it costs more to turn off fluorescent lights than to leave them on. This was true in the 1940s when fluorescent lamps first became popular because turning them off and on again greatly shortened the lamp life. Today's lamps are not as affected by start-up damage and the energy surge to start them up is so small that it's cheaper to switch them off when they're not needed.
"Myth Busters" tried this one out.
by TreknologyNet - 1/20/08 5:46 PM In reply to: Flourecent myth. by strickjh2005On Myth Busters (TV show), they tested a variety of lights from fluorescent to LED to see how much start power versus running power to work out whether it was cheaper to leave the light on, or turn it off. The worst performer was the fluorescent at 30 seconds, i.e., if you're going to use startup power as an argument to leave it turned on, you must only be out of the room for less than 30 seconds.
They also stress-tested various lights to see how they handled being turned on and off. They set up a timer to switch the lights on and off every 2 minutes for (I think) sixty days. The only survivor was the LED lamp. This test was not very well monitored, and failed to include the expense of manufacture vs energy use/output.
Rebecca-Environmeny
by ispahan - 1/20/08 5:20 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This i feel is more of a reccommendation than a question and one I heartly agree with. Enough said.
Conn
Enviro Impact of Consumer Electrics: Solutions?
by Agenbeit - 1/20/08 8:25 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Yours is not the only voice of concern. The EU (European Union) is now drafting legislation because of the drain on their power grid's resources and output.
Germany for example will very soon no longer allow devices to be sold that go into 'sleep' mode. Multiply their power drain by many devices and yumpteen million EU citizens - the impact is quite large. And, a lot of EU's domestic energy consumption comes from imported fossil fuels. And, safe nuclear energy (but where do you put that rubbish, Pierre?)
I see nothing wrong with getting up out of a chair or bed to turn off an appliance I don't immediately need: lights, computers, entertainment, etc. Alarms, phones, fridges, thermostats, etc. are necessary, but do we really need a toaster or dishwasher on call 24/7?
WinXP startup problems
by rom5430 - 1/20/08 9:32 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
After replacing my hard drive and having a tech company ghost the old hard drive contents onto my new, I am having the following issue:
when I power on the PC I have to press F12, then enter on the SATA hard drive and then press F1 to get the PC to actually bootup. What would be the cause of this and how would I correct this????
Green Machines
by preitman - 1/20/08 11:37 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Rebecca,
There has been much research done by professionals and privately in regards to conserving energy with computers. i did some research myself awhile back ago to see where i was using energy and how to cut back (mainly to lower my electric bill). i bought a device which monitors power useage from an outlet (i got mine from amazon, here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/International-P4400-Power-Usage-Monitor/dp/B000ZNS5BS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1200856867&sr=8-5)to do my research. i found out that while using my laptop at full power (playing games, watching movies, etc.)i was pulling about 150-200 watts an hour. for everyday use like surfing the web and reading emails i was averaging around 75-100 watts an hour. this was just for the laptop, not the monitor, speakers, and other periphials, which of course uses additional power. also, i learned that when powering my laptop up from being turned off, it took about 200 watts in that short time frame, whereas if i put it in sleep/hibernate mode it was only drawing about 1-2 watts an hour (also the same amount when turned off and charging). so basically, it uses more power to shut the laptop completely down and turn it back on than it does to put it in hibernation while not using it. our, if you have a laptop, you could unplug the power cable and use the battery only when powering on then plug it back in when the battery starts to get low. another thing to look at is your monitor. a 15" CRT type monitor (i still own one, i know, im ancient) uses approx. 15 watts per hour (wph) compared to a 15" LCD which uses about 30wph or a 19" LCD which takes around 45-50wph.
on to the other part of your question, i dont think many computer manufactures will work on making more effectient machines until the government starts to put the squeeze on, much like the automotive industry back in the day. i know there is a computer company that makes a very "green machine" (www.enanocomputers.com). i do not own one, but have seen them in use and they are nice machines that take little power to run.
all in all, i recommend to get a watt reader and experiment on your own and see how much power you are using and where, then make the appropiate sacrifices and cut backs to get a more efficient and power-saving work area. best of luck
-Paul
Something wrong here
by waytron - 1/21/08 4:12 AM In reply to: Green Machines by preitmanI think you might want to revisit your tests. How can your laptop be drawing 150-200 watts when the typical power supply can not even produce that much power. Just take a look at your laptop power supply and you will see that most of them are rated for 70, 85 or 90 watts, depending on the exact model computer you have. Your numbers are more in line with the power consumption of a Desktop Computer.
confirmation
by preitman - 1/21/08 4:39 AM In reply to: Something wrong here by waytronmy apologies, i broke and had surgery, so am doped up on pain killers and not completely coherent. i forgot to mention and clarify that the device was hooked up to my power strip which also holds my monitor/speakers/other peripheals etc. when i hooked it up to my laptop alone it does only pull aroun 85wph on start up. thanks for pointing that out
typo
by preitman - 1/21/08 2:31 PM In reply to: confirmation by preitman*broke my shoulder
Impact of Consumer Electronics
by brownbuffalo1 - 1/21/08 1:24 PM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Good question Rebecca. As an 'Older' person, I've learnt to turn off those appliances that I'm not using. I think you're right when you say that most people don't consider the bigger picture when buying our gadgets Etc'. I always turn off my Computer, or go into Standby and switch the Monitor off at the same time. Also, have you noticed that some appliances like Vacuum Cleaners nearly always are getting more powerful.Remember when 700watt cleaners were the norm?, now the things are up to 1600watts! Its the same with home Airconditioning,most new homes here have this built in.(Down Under)Just imagine the extra load that puts on Power Stations.
Apart from the obvious, what else should we do?.
Air conditioners have to be more powerful
by TreknologyNet - 1/21/08 5:06 PM In reply to: Impact of Consumer Electronics by brownbuffalo1Since the banning of CFCs (and the jury is still out on whether it was because of the ozone layer, or DuPont protecting its patents), the actual refrigeration process has become less efficient, so the machine has to do more work to achieve the same temperature variation. One must also remember that the southern hemisphere is less hospitable than the northern. During the southern Summer, the earth is closer to the Sun in its orbit and further away during Winter. This means that the southern hemisphere gets more heat in summer and less heat in winter (when compared to the northern). Many people in Australia are living in older houses which were built when insulation was just a word, and certainly not known on the street. So with the recently increasing temperatures after nearly a decade of drought, it's also no wonder that air conditioners are getting even more powerful because of consumer demand. To the best of my knowledge, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is the only jurisidiction that has minimum insulation requirements on new buildings and requires vendors to provide an "insulation quality report" when selling an existing home.
Energy star
by Hell Rider 62 - 1/21/08 9:38 PM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i try and use as little energy as possible and i try to keep my stuff turned off 90% of the time unless if its my computer which i put in stand by whenever i will be away from my computer for more than ten minutes unless if I'm playing Xbox 360 in which case i just turn off the monitor. when my computer is shut down i make sure that the power bar is of or the computer is unplugged from the wall also try and use power bars every were you can because for some odd reason it is more power efficacy then plugging directly into the wall into an outlet.
Consumer Consumption
by BeyondNovice - 1/21/08 10:21 PM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've recently installed 120 computers and HDTV's as monitors where I work. With that many units, one of the big concerns to me was the power requirements of the equipment. I was afraid that an electrical upgrade would be necessary (and very expensive). As it turned out, the additional load on the electrical circuits are negligible.
Todays electronics are not the power hungry monsters that you might think. A lot more 'work' can be done with less power today than say 10 years ago. And we haven't even begun using super-conductors yet!
As far as turning off your machine to conserve, I don't agree. Leaving your computer running, mostly idle, takes less power than starting it up. And don't forget about the power surge when you do turn it on. Just like a flourescent lamp takes a lot more energy to start it than to leave it on.
In short, leave your computer on. Put it to work for you and learn more about electricity and power distribution. Cool stuff like E=IR and Power Factor.
Quit worrying
by kenwolf - 1/22/08 8:03 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Rebecca, first of all stop doing things that make you feel guilty. Turn off your computer if leaving it on makes you feel guilty.
Quit worrying about global warming. More and more scientists are disputing the claim that global warming is man-made. Climate change was here long before man, and will continue long after man is gone from the planet.
Finally, conservation is up to each individual. We all should be conservative when it comes to our natural resources, but don't carry it to an extreme. I don't consider power consumption when buying electronics. If I were that concerned I would just forego using them at all.
It's important to set some priorities
by Dango517 - 1/22/08 9:01 AM In reply to: Environmental impact concerns of consumer electronics by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
By far the biggest consumers of Natural Resources are your Home (heating, air conditioning and hot water) and Car followed by all appliances and Electronic. Focus on the house and car first then the small stuff. If you don't own your home put your Car first. There all important. Work on the big items first then work your way down. It all does matter, but put your effort into where it matters most, first.
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