Yes, you read that headline correctly. If you subscribe to a cable service with a DVR box, according to a 2011 report by the National Resources Defense Council, that box consumes more electricity than an Energy Star rated refrigerator -- approximately 446 kWh/year (with your refrigerator running at about 415 kWh per year). This makes your DVR the most power-hungry electronic device in your home after electric water heaters and air conditioners. And some homes have multiple DVRs. Most homes definately have other set-top boxes and electronics plugged in at all hours of the day, wasting hundreds of dollars a year.
Phantom Loads
With Hawaii having some of the most expensive electricity in the country, saving electricity in your home has a real effect on your wallet. Your DVR's power consumption of 446 kWh/year costs you about $134/year (at $0.30 per kWh). While, this may not seem like much, consider all the devices at home you keep plugged in all day in standby mode when you are not home, each drawing kilowatts and costing you money. In fact, another NRDC report from 2015 shows that "idle load electricity" -- the power consumed by computers, TVs, DVRs and other electrics left plugged in throughout the day when not in use, account for about 23% of your electricity bill.
These "phantom loads" not only cost you money but cost the environment as well -- that electricity has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? And in Hawaii, that electricity is mostly produced by burning fossil fuels.
Thus reducing these phantom loads are doubly green -- they save you greenbacks and reduce your impact on the environment.
So what can you do?
Go through your house and identify any electronic device that you use for only a few hours a day (like your TV set, audio equipment, etc). This should also include any cell phone charging plugs or any large "box" plug. A simple reminder, if the plug is warm to the touch when plugged in, it is drawing power and costing you money, even if the device it powers is "off".
Use Digital Timers - Programmable For Different Days of the Week
Put your DVR on a timer. I have mine set to shut off my DVR at 12:30am and wake up at 6am. So I am roughly cutting its power consumption by about 25%. While I might not watch TV in the morning, I might want to record something at odd hours, and this schedule seems to work for me. Basically, the more you keep your DVR off, the more you save electricity.
If your entertainment center (TV, DVD player, audio equipment, etc.) is NEVER in use during the day while at work, there is really no need to keep them powered in standby mode 24 hours a day. Put all those devices on strip and plug them in to a timer set to only turn on during the hours you are home. I recommend using a digital timer that you set a weekly schedule -- if you work Monday through Friday, but are home on the weekends, you can set your timer to power you TV all day on the weekends, but perhaps only in the evening on work days. Here are a few timers I recommend:
I like these timers because they are easy to set, can be customized with various schedules throughout the week and even have a battery backup to keep the time when power goes out.
Use Analog Timers - For Regularly Scheduled Usage
You can of course use a more traditional analog timer for other devices that are used on a regular schedule. For example, I sleep with a CPAP, a medical device that pumps air into the my nose via a mask a wear to bed that stops snoring and sleep apnea . CPAPs typically have a heating element that warms distilled water to keep the air humid. Since I don't need to use the CPAP at 3 in the afternoon, I have my CPAP set on an analog timer from about 10pm to 8am every day, preventing the heating element from wasting electricity during the day when it is not in use.
Use Countdown Timers - Great For Cell Phone Chargers
Leaving your cell phone charging cable plugged in (even without the phone connected) draws power and wastes you money, For your cell phone recharge cables, I recommend using Belkin's Conserve a Socket Timer - an outlet countdown timer. I personally use this one for my iPhone charging cable. I can keep my cable plugged in without drawing any power until I click the little grey button on the top of the box. A switch on the side determines the countdown time, either 30 minutes, 3 hours or 6 hours. When the time is up, the power is cutoff, ensuring your iPhone plug is not drawing a load when not in use.
Use Power Strips
While timers offer automation of your power saving, you may just want to use a power strip which you can just easily flip on or off as needed. Belkin makes a higher end power strips under their Conserve a Socket line of power-saving products with a remote that allows you to turn it on without having to lean over and back behind your entertainment center.
Return on Investment
If you just plug your DVR into a $16 digital timer like I did, set to keep your DVR off when everyone is asleep from midnight to 6am, you are saving about $33.50/year, or an approximate ROI of 209%. Multiply this across your household with all your electronic devices and you can save several hundred dollars in your electricity bill.
Not too shabby.
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