Dec 25 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Terry Maxon, The Dallas Morning News The Dallas Morning News

 

This morning, many consumers will be getting the gifts that keep on taking.

They'll be receiving video game players, mobile music players, the latest computers and televisions, many with the same characteristic -- the ability to keep sucking down electricity even when they're not in use.

It's the power adapters that drain a little bit of electricity all the time, even though no device is plugged into them.

It's the high-definition television that can pull more than 10 watts of power when it's not turned on. It's the computer that sips while it sleeps.

The Christmastime electronic harvest spotlights a quiet but expensive change in Americans' habits: Even as refrigerators, dryers and other big devices get more efficient, consumers are pumping up their utility bills thanks to an ever-growing reliance on personal electronics.

These gadgets now account for 15 percent of electricity use, triple the share in 1980. By 2015, the government estimates, personal electronics will consume a third of all electricity use.

Power adapters get much of the blame, because they stay plugged in -- and drawing current -- whether in use or not.

There are now five adapters for every American, according to Denise Durrett, an official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"We've got an increase in the amounts of personal gadgets," she said. "We've got PDAs [personal digital assistants], cellphones, BlackBerries and digital cameras. All these get their power from power adapters."

It's like termites attacking your house: It isn't the size of each bug. It's the number of bugs and the time they spend munching away.

"Right now, if you go through your house and you see the various consumer electronics products you have, they're responsible for about 15 percent of your electricity use," Ms. Durrett said. "That compares to 5 percent in 1980."

In other words, if your electricity bill runs $2,500 this year, $375 of that is for the cellphone, iPod, computer, television, kitchen mixer, hair dryer and so forth.

Most consumers think of their refrigerators, electric dryers, heating and cooling systems and such as the energy wasters, but Ms. Durrett said those big appliances and systems are becoming more efficient over time.

Those big appliances and the heating and cooling systems are still the biggest users in the house, but energy usage "is pretty static" because of their growing efficiency, she said.

Most consumer electronics are also becoming more efficient -- it's just that there are so many of them. And many of them use electricity, on or off.

"This consumer electronic usage is going to increase over the next 10 years," said Ms. Durrett, "because we're bringing more and more in homes."

Take a traditional analog television, the one with the cathode ray tube. A 27-inch Sony TV built in 1987 pulls about 4.7 watts of power when off. That's a lot less than the 125 to 145 watts it can pull when it's on, but still a waste.

A 10-year-old Symphonic TV/VCR combo, with only a 9-inch screen, pulls 8.7 watts when off, compared with around 50 watts when in use.

Of course, there's a lot more in most homes than just the television. There's also the video recorder, the cable box, the DVD player, the amplifier/receiver and other potential components.

The 27-inch Sony, used with a 1999 Panasonic VCR, 2002 Phillips DVD player and recent model Motorola digital cable box, pulls about 24 watts combined when all are turned off. The Motorola box by itself continuously drains more than 11 watts, on or off.

Power adapters for cellphones, music players and other personal electronics typically draw 1 watt or more.

An old power adapter for a Fisher-Price baby monitor pulls 2.4 watts, even when it's not plugged into the receiver.

"The way people can save with power adapters is to simply unplug them when you're done using them," Ms. Durrett said.

Chris Schein, spokesman for TXU Corp., said the recent rise in power prices have made consumers more attuned to ways to cut their energy usage.

"One of the really interesting things is that for several years, we have been working a great deal with our consumers trying to offer energy efficiency opportunities," he said. "There wasn't a whole lot of interest in it."

But the spike in prices has brought a "renewed interest."

Consumers can research the average power usage for devices, particularly energy-hungry televisions, if they want to pick a more efficient model.

"There are some televisions that pull as much as 12 watts an hour in standby," Ms. Durrett said. "That's not necessary."

E-mail tmaxon@dallasnews.com