Choosing Greener Tech: Energy Efficiency in Home Technology

Did you know the average American spends about $100 per month on our electric bills, with a good portion of that amount going to power the myriad of electronics and gadgets that we've incorporated into our lives. Whether it is a 19" CRT or a 60" LCD, we've all become accustomed to living with technology in the home, but we always don't realize which technologies are the most efficient and least polluting. In the most recent issue of Body+Soul, writer Elizabeth Kemper French illustrates the variance of how much power and pollution our choices in home electronics can make...

posted originally from: Unplggd

We previously reported that Australia could consider banning Plasma TVs as a result of failing energy efficiency tests.

Here are some figures from Save Money+ Energy in the December issue of Body+Soul:

Home Stereo vs Mp3 Player

120 kilowatt hours vs. 6 kilowatt hours
$13.20/year vs. $0.66/year
206 lbs. of carbon dioxide vs. 10 lbs. carbon dioxide

Digital Cable vs. Digital Satellite

239 kilowatt hours vs. 124 kilowatt hours
$26.29/year vs. $13.64/year
410 lbs. of carbon dioxide vs. 213 lbs. carbon dioxide

Cordless landline vs Cellular

26 kilowatt hours vs. 3 kilowatt hours
$12.86/year vs. $0.33/year
45 lbs. of carbon dioxide vs. 5 lbs. carbon dioxide

Plasma TV vs. LCD TV

441 kilowatt hours vs. 77 kilowatt hours
$48.51/year vs. $8.47/year
756 lbs. of carbon dioxide vs. 132 lbs. carbon dioxide

Besides keeping our landline, it looks like we've chosen all the more energy efficient options. We do have a home stereo system but it's kept unplugged when not in use, but we were a bit surprised with the difference between digital cable and digital satellite services.

Here are some other tips to help reduce your energy bills in the home tech department:

Comments (1)

we just make a habit of unplugging everything electronic nightly and only plugging in what we need when we need it. we've noticed a nice savings each month.