'We're Getting There,' House Majority Whip Says as Climate Bill Vote Nears

[BamaGrad03 146]

How many CF bulbs would I have to have to save $175 a year?

[RunInRed 16,383]

I'm curious about one other point: Do all of you who are concerned about your utility bills already take proactive measures to bring down costs? (i.e., have you changed out your light bulbs? do you un-plug your cell phone charger when not in use? do you turn off lights when you aren't around? Do you have energy star appliances? Do you wash your clothes in cold water with cold water detergents?, etc)

I'm not trying to play a gotcha-game or preach but rather understand if your concerns are matched with actions.

do you un-plug your cell phone charger when not in use?

Tell me more about this, please. We have two Verizon LG VX8300 models that we charge every night, but leave the chargers where they plug into the wall outlets plugged in. We need to unplug both chargers from the wall outlets, right? Is that what you're saying. Never heard that energy savings tip.

A little bit of info on Phantom Power...

Though it's known by a laundry list of names-phantom load, idle current, vampire power and wall wart are the most common-this "phantom energy" all does the same thing: sucks extra energy from the grid into your home when you aren't looking and you don't need it. Many gadgets, electronic devices and appliances draw power even when they're switched off or not in use, just by being plugged in, and though it may seem trivial, it can add up over time.

Chargers for cell phones, digital cameras, power tools and other gadgets draw energy even when they're not in use. Appliances like televisions, computer monitors, and DVD players can also draw power whenever they're plugged into an outlet. All together, phantom energy can account for about 10 percent of an individual home's electricity use. It might not sound like much, until you consider that cutting out that 10 percent will get you over a month of free electricity every year. Taking quick action, like unplugging your devices when they aren't use, will cut back on phantom power, though it can definitely be a hassle to crawl behind the TV every time you're done watching. There are a handful of devices designed specifically to combat phantom energy, but plugging bundled devices-think TV, DVD player, and DVR, or computer, monitor, and printer- into the same power strip and then turning off the power strip will do the job.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-tran...-energy-by.html

More info:

http://news.cnet.com/Your-cell-phone-is-ch..._3-6118116.html

[OldNewby 27]

I'm curious about one other point: Do all of you who are concerned about your utility bills already take proactive measures to bring down costs? (i.e., have you changed out your light bulbs? do you un-plug your cell phone charger when not in use? do you turn off lights when you aren't around? Do you have energy star appliances? Do you wash your clothes in cold water with cold water detergents?, etc)

I'm not trying to play a gotcha-game or preach but rather understand if your concerns are matched with actions.

do you un-plug your cell phone charger when not in use?

Tell me more about this, please. We have two Verizon LG VX8300 models that we charge every night, but leave the chargers where they plug into the wall outlets plugged in. We need to unplug both chargers from the wall outlets, right? Is that what you're saying. Never heard that energy savings tip.

A little bit of info on Phantom Power...

Though it's known by a laundry list of names-phantom load, idle current, vampire power and wall wart are the most common-this "phantom energy" all does the same thing: sucks extra energy from the grid into your home when you aren't looking and you don't need it. Many gadgets, electronic devices and appliances draw power even when they're switched off or not in use, just by being plugged in, and though it may seem trivial, it can add up over time.

Chargers for cell phones, digital cameras, power tools and other gadgets draw energy even when they're not in use. Appliances like televisions, computer monitors, and DVD players can also draw power whenever they're plugged into an outlet. All together, phantom energy can account for about 10 percent of an individual home's electricity use. It might not sound like much, until you consider that cutting out that 10 percent will get you over a month of free electricity every year. Taking quick action, like unplugging your devices when they aren't use, will cut back on phantom power, though it can definitely be a hassle to crawl behind the TV every time you're done watching. There are a handful of devices designed specifically to combat phantom energy, but plugging bundled devices-think TV, DVD player, and DVR, or computer, monitor, and printer- into the same power strip and then turning off the power strip will do the job.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-tran...-energy-by.html

More info:

http://news.cnet.com/Your-cell-phone-is-ch..._3-6118116.html

Thanks for the info, Rob. 10% is nothing to sneeze at.

[MDM4AU 331]

Another Red Hering in the Effort to conserve energy

Don't get me wrong, I believe in conserving energy. And not for some cockamamie idea like Global Warming Climate Change. Just because it makes sense.

I have changed out almost every one of my light bulbs, I have energy efficient appliances, I have programmable thermostats so that I am not running my Heat/AC to make up for the time the thermostat was turned up/down before to get the house back to comfortable, etc.

But the whole phone charger unplugged has always been laughable to me.

[RunInRed 16,383]

To be fair, I don't think "phantom power" just includes cell phone chargers. It covers a wide arrange of chargers, electronics and other gadgets you might leave permanently plugged in while not being used. The bottom line is, all of these devices draw energy. So for me, it makes some sense to make a decent effort at unplugging items when they are not being used. I'm not paranoid about it and I don't go around unplugging every thing but the easy stuff like my cell phone charger, I pull out of the wall. Will I see a 10% savings? No idea. But I guess every little bit helps.

[autigeremt 6,598]

To be fair, I don't think "phantom power" just includes cell phone chargers. It covers a wide arrange of chargers, electronics and other gadgets you might leave permanently plugged in while not being used. The bottom line is, all of these devices draw energy. So for me, it makes some sense to make a decent effort at unplugging items when they are not being used. I'm not paranoid about it and I don't go around unplugging every thing but the easy stuff like my cell phone charger, I pull out of the wall. Will I see a 10% savings? No idea. But I guess every little bit helps.

And the most important thing about all of this is that YOU did it ON YOUR OWN and not at the hands of the ever-powerful government.

POWER to the people