Revolting Gadgets

According to the September 20^th NY Times, in 1980 the average American household had three consumer gadgets in it; today that number has increased to twenty-five! While mainstream appliances are regulated by the feds as to efficiency, and there are Energy Star valuations to assist in the comparison, for most electronic gadgets, they are not remotely concerned with efficiency.

So many of our “gadgets” remain “on” in stand-by mode, sucking down energy with no off-setting benefit. When standards are applied, we all see the incredibly positive results. The Times: “In 1990, refrigerator efficiency standards went into effect in the United States. Today, new refrigerators are fancier than ever, but their power consumption has been slashed by about 45 percent since the standards took effect. Likewise, thanks in part to standards, the average power consumption of a new washer is nearly 70 percent lower than a new unit in 1990.”

Indeed consumer electronics manufacturers are centered on the cool stuff their products can do, and most certainly not on what waste they cause and how they make dealing with global greenhouse emission that much more difficult. Exactly how much more power is likely to be required in the near term to satisfy the global growth of this gadgetry? The Times: “Worldwide, consumer electronics now represent 15 percent of household power demand, and that is expected to triple over the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency… To satisfy the demand from gadgets will require building the equivalent of 560 coal-fired power plants, or 230 nuclear plants, according to the agency.” Not good.

Turning off that stand-by power can cut energy usage by an average of 15% per year. And paying attention to the kind of big screen – wasteful plasmas versus much more efficient LEDs – can significantly drop energy bills. A big screen television can draw more power than a refrigerator over a year. And you’ll love this little analysis from the Times: “Noah Horowitz, at the Natural Resources Defense Council, calculated that the nation’s gaming consoles, like the Xbox 360 from Microsoft and the Sony PlayStation 3, now use about the same amount of electricity each year as San Diego, the ninth-largest city in country.”

The solution, unfortunately, is to begin mandating electronic efficiencies in the mass of “small to large” consumer electronics that aggregate a huge drain on our power supply. If we can accomplish even a fraction of what we have done with large consumer appliances, the savings will be monumental. Yes, these electronics will cost more… at least in what you have to pay for them when you buy them… but in the end, perhaps the overall cost to our society will be profoundly less.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I approve this message.