Drive a stake into electrical ‘vampires’

Phantom loads
• Other names for vampire loads: Phantom electrical loads; standby power; leaked electricity.
• New Canadian legislation to reduce phantom loads could save about four terawatt-hours, or the electrical energy used by 140,000 households annually.

Eco-Minded by Kai Chan

October 27, 2008 1:55 a.m.

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Dozens of monsters have sunk their fangs into you and they’re sucking your blood. Or at least energy and your hard-earned money.

Possible vampires are your computer, TV, stereo, and any other device with a remote control or digital clock. They’re vampires if they suck considerable electrical power even in standby mode (though some don’t).

Collectively, vampires consume about one-quarter of the total power used for electronics, draining your liquid assets.

These vampires “suck” in the environmental sense, too, because vampire loads are in addition to all the electricity we need for useful purposes. If we could slay these monsters, we could avoid importing dirty electricity or building new power plants, such as environmentally-damaging coal.

Help us drive a stake into them. First, unplug your electronics whenever possible, or plug them into a power bar that you can switch off. Second, buy Energy Star devices, certified not to consume more than 0.75 watts in standby mode. Third, ask your new members of Parliament how they will fight these evil fiends, such as by requiring all new products to meet Energy Star standards.

Together, we can fight back the forces of darkness by ensuring that our electronics are actually working for us, and not sucking us dry.

– Kai Chan is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability (IRES) at UBC. Conor Reynolds is a PhD candidate in IRES at UBC, doing research on energy and transportation emissions.

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