Your Dear Santa letter probably doesn’t have a line item for high energy bills—nobody’s does. This is why it’s important to remember the ENERGY STAR® label when you’re shopping for consumer electronic gifts, or wishing for them, this holiday season.
Consumer electronics are responsible for approximately 15 percent of household electricity use—enough to make a real impact on your energy bill. So if you don’t want to be the bearer of added energy costs, Focus on Energy recommends looking for the ENERGY STAR when purchasing electronics. This way you can be sure you’re getting the most efficient models on the market.
Why look for the ENERGY STAR? Earning the ENERGY STAR means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The ENERGY STAR helps consumers identify products that operate on a fraction of the energy required by their standard-model counterparts and results in lower utility bills.
Understanding Electronics
You may be surprised to learn that more than 75 percent of the electricity used by home electronic equipment is consumed when the products are turned off; this is called phantom load. The truth is when products are turned "off" they are really just on standby mode, using electricity to power features like clocks, remote controls, and channel/station memory. Turning your TV, stereo, computer, and other electronics off when you're not using them is the first step to saving energy. The next step is to upgrade to ENERGY STAR qualified models. They address phantom load by using up to 60 percent less energy than conventional equipment when turned off.
Here are additional facts about some of the more popular electronic items found in U.S. households:
TVs
- There are about 275 million TVs currently in use in the U.S., consuming more than 50 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy each year—or 4 percent of all households' electricity use. This is enough electricity to power all the homes in the state of New York for an entire year.
- You can find the ENERGY STAR on everything from standard TVs, to HD-ready TVs, to the largest flat-screen plasma TVs.
- When purchasing a new flat-screen TV, Focus recommends an LCD model over plasma because they are more energy efficient.
DVD Players
- When they’re off, ENERGY STAR qualified DVD products use as little as one-quarter of the energy used by standard models.
- ENERGY STAR qualified DVD players come with all the latest features, including progressive scan.
So remember, when making out your Christmas wish list be sure to include the ENERGY STAR—Santa will know what you’re talking about. Visit our Web site to learn more about ENERGY STAR qualified consumer electronics, or call 800.762.7077.
