Power Consumption

[Lorne]

Here's another take on the situation: Incandescent bulbs have not been banned in the USA at all. They simply have been mandated to increase their efficiency by 25% -- a challenge which has been met successfully:

I thought the phase out of bulbs for the US was based on a 30% efficiency increase. (There are exceptions; 3 way, appliance lamps, and a few others).
If they can't meet the 30% efficiency increase then they would have to be phased out.
There's another round of requirements to be met in 2020 which will make it even tougher on incandescents.

I think I'll have to try those halogen incandescents. They sound like they're going to be better than CFLs.

 

[vwestlife]

I thought the phase out of bulbs for the US was based on a 30% efficiency increase. (There are exceptions; 3 way, appliance lamps, and a few others).
If they can't meet the 30% efficiency increase then they would have to be phased out.

It varies depending on wattage. The exceptions are for:

Beginning 2012:
* bulbs with "100 watt equivalent" light output using no more than 72 watts (28% improvement)
* bulbs with "75 watt equivalent" light output using no more than 53 watts (29.3% improvement)

Additionally beginning 2014:
* bulbs with "60 watt equivalent" light output using no more than 43 watts (28.3% improvement)
* bulbs with "40 watt equivalent" light output using no more than 29 watts (27.5% improvement)

Bulbs with typical light outputs above and below this range are excluded from the ban or efficiency improvement requirements, which ironically could lead to some people substituting 150-watt bulbs, and thus burning more energy, when their favorite regular 100-watt incandescent bulbs get banned next year!

 

[Lorne]

Just for fun / interest, I did some more measuring of my stuff while in ready mode (but not actually performing any tasks).

Printers:

HP3525 Color Laserjet
On & ready to print: 61 watts, $ 4.50/month electricity usage
In sleep mode: 8.5 watts, $ 0.61/month electricity usage (so sleep mode does save a bunch)

HP1320 Laserjet
On & ready to print: 3.2 watts, $ 0.22/month electricity usage
No sleep mode.

HP9800 Deskjet
On & ready to print: 2.2 watts, $ 0.15/moth electricity usage
No sleep mode.

Flat Panel Monitor:
Dell 2007FP 20”
On: 37.9 watts, $ 2.82/month electricity usage
Power save mode with screen saver working: 36.4 watts, $ 2.74/month electricity usage
Off: 0.9 watts (I can’t understand that – how can it use juice when it’s off?) $ 0.00/month (or close to $0)

So it would appear that out of everything, the flat panel monitor sucks up a bit of juice while in standby mode, while the printers don’t really cost much in comparison.

 

[vwestlife]

Off: 0.9 watts (I can’t understand that – how can it use juice when it’s off?) $ 0.00/month (or close to $0)

Does it use an external power "brick"? Anything that doesn't have a true hardware on/off switch before the power supply will consume a small amount of AC power even when you think it's "off".

 

[Lorne]

Does it use an external power "brick"? Anything that doesn't have a true hardware on/off switch before the power supply will consume a small amount of AC power even when you think it's "off".

No power brick or wall wart.
Maybe there's something built into the back of the monitor itself?

 

[vwestlife]

No power brick or wall wart.
Maybe there's something built into the back of the monitor itself?

Does it use a "hard" on/off switch, where you can feel a mechanical difference between the "on" and "off" settings, or a "soft" power button? Anything with a "soft" power button will always consume a very small amount of power when "turned off", due to the circuitry which reads the status of the button.

It's the same thing with TV sets -- the infrared sensor circuit has to stay on all the time, to be able to receive the "on" signal from the remote control. Back in the '80s and early '90s, some TVs used to have a "vacation switch" on the back, to let you cut off all power from the set when it wasn't going to be used for a long time. (That was useful, because the early remote control circuitry was prone to power surges, causing the TV to automatically turn on by itself, with no response from the controls until it was switched off or unplugged!)

 

[Lorne]

I dunno.
It's got a small button with an LED behind it so you can see if the monitor is on or off (kind of redundant really - if it's on you'd see something on the screen, and if it's off you wouldn't).
If you push the button, you can "feel" a small click when it turns on, but you also feel the same small click when you turn it off.
If I turn on the monitor, then unplug it while it's on, and then plug it back in, it comes back on without me pushing the power button again, so it knows it was on before it was unplugged, which would make me think it's a mechanical switch.

Ahhh, just re-read your post - it must be a soft button - the on feels exactly the same as the off (ie: if I was blind, I wouldn't know whether I'd turned it on or off - in more ways than one of course).

 

[chalackd]

Off: 0.9 watts (I can’t understand that – how can it use juice when it’s off?) $ 0.00/month (or close to $0)

I've got a pair of westinghouse 24" flat panels, and when they are off you can actually still hear them drawing some power in the form of an almost unnoticeable high pitch whine. They definitely have the 'soft' style power switches so it's not such a big surprise that they would be constantly drawing a smal amount of power.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Call me paranoid, but if I'm gone from home for an extended period, I want things off[/b], not just "soft off". So I have power strips on all of my computer gear and I unplug the rest when I'm away. Putting my faith in some made-in-China power supply not to erupt in flames when I'm away is a little more than I can bring myself to do.

 

[Lorne]

I'm continuing the highjack on my own thread.

More on CFL bulbs from the CBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsJXv_6i6iI

I don't quite understand all the concern about mercury (using gloves?).
I remember in grade 8 or 9 science class, the teacher giving us all a little mercury to roll around in the palms of our hands - we were playing with the stuff for 5 or 10 minutes - there certainly wasn't any concern then.
So, does this mean me and all my classmates should be dead by now?

 

[Dwight Elvey]

Just for fun / interest, I did some more measuring of my stuff while in ready mode (but not actually performing any tasks).

Printers:

HP3525 Color Laserjet
On & ready to print: 61 watts, $ 4.50/month electricity usage
In sleep mode: 8.5 watts, $ 0.61/month electricity usage (so sleep mode does save a bunch)

HP1320 Laserjet
On & ready to print: 3.2 watts, $ 0.22/month electricity usage
No sleep mode.

HP9800 Deskjet
On & ready to print: 2.2 watts, $ 0.15/moth electricity usage
No sleep mode.

Flat Panel Monitor:
Dell 2007FP 20”
On: 37.9 watts, $ 2.82/month electricity usage
Power save mode with screen saver working: 36.4 watts, $ 2.74/month electricity usage
Off: 0.9 watts (I can’t understand that – how can it use juice when it’s off?) $ 0.00/month (or close to $0)

So it would appear that out of everything, the flat panel monitor sucks up a bit of juice while in standby mode, while the printers don’t really cost much in comparison.

Hi
The front panel switch on a flat screen doesn't turn AC power off. It turns
of most of the DC power but leaves a small amount of logic still powered
and the power supplies still mostly on.
If you want to turn it all the way off, there is often an AC switch
on the back or, do as I do, use a power strip with a switch.
The switches on the front are all low voltage switches and do
require power to be functional.
Dwight

 

[Dwight Elvey]

Call me paranoid, but if I'm gone from home for an extended period, I want things off[/b], not just "soft off". So I have power strips on all of my computer gear and I unplug the rest when I'm away. Putting my faith in some made-in-China power supply not to erupt in flames when I'm away is a little more than I can bring myself to do.

Hi
You might want to pull the power strips as well. Many have those MOVs for
over voltage protection. These often fail in a form that doesn't draw enough
power to trip the breaker in the strip but enough power to start fires.
This happened to by brother and he was lucky that the table leg that
caught on fire didn't burn well and put itself out.
By the way, this was a metal power strip, tied to the leg with a couple
tie-wraps.
Dwight

 

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

I don't quite understand all the concern about mercury (using gloves?).
I remember in grade 8 or 9 science class, the teacher giving us all a little mercury to roll around in the palms of our hands - we were playing with the stuff for 5 or 10 minutes - there certainly wasn't any concern then

Lorne,

Mercury is considered highly toxic. I remember too when kids used to play with the stuff. I can give you some insight into how the Chemical Industry looks at the substance since most of my career was spent in Chemical manufacturing.

What most people didn't realize for a long time was that at room temperature Mercury gives off vapors which can be inhaled. It can also be absorbed through unbroken skin and get into your system.
Do a search for "MSDS Mercury". The Material Safety Data Sheet lists all of the potential health hazards. Note that exposure can cause permanent damage to internal organs in the body.

In the past laboratories used thermometers and vacuum gauges that had mercury in them. All of those have been replace with electronic devices that don't rely on mercury and the substance is banned from coming onto the site. I have even heard of companies that would evacuate an entire building if a thermometer was broken and call in a team to clean it up.

Think also of all you have heard about high mercury levels in fish. Mercury is heavier than water, so if it gets into a waterway, it sinks to the bottom and is eaten by bottom feeders like lobsters, shrimp catfish ...etc. Then you and I eat those fish and in turn get elevated levels in our bodies.

Items like CRTs being put in landfills can cause mercury seepage into water aquifers and poisoning of our drinking water. The EPA and other health related agencies test for levels of mercury in our environment on a routine basis. There are many other chemicals referred to as "heavy metals" that are just as harmful to our health such as lead and chromium 6.

So, one (small) exposure may not kill you, but the cumulative effects of exposure through contaminated food, water (and broken light bulbs) can definitely have an adverse effect on our health.

 

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

Hi
You might want to pull the power strips as well. Many have those MOVs for
over voltage protection. These often fail in a form that doesn't draw enough
power to trip the breaker in the strip but enough power to start fires.
Dwight

Here in North Florida, we have bad problems with lightning strikes during summer thunderstorms. I have had equipment damaged through power surges by nearby lightning strikes. The damage isn't always immediate either. Components can be weakened and fail later on. I had lightning damage one time that took out several appliances. About a month later, I came into my living room to find smoke pouring out of the back of my TV. Turns out it was one of those current limiting devices in the power supply that failed.

Chuck

 

[Chuck(G)]

Here in North Florida, we have bad problems with lightning strikes during summer thunderstorms. I have had equipment damaged through power surges by nearby lightning strikes. The damage isn't always immediate either. Components can be weakened and fail later on. I had lightning damage one time that took out several appliances. About a month later, I came into my living room to find smoke pouring out of the back of my TV. Turns out it was one of those current limiting devices in the power supply that failed.

That also goes for UPS boxes. I had a similar experience with one of those 500 or so VA units. The ugly thing was that the smoke kept going on with the unit unplugged--those gel cells store a lot of energy. After talking to the manufacturer and getting nowhere, I pulled both of the units I had from service.

I wonder why NOVs aren't paired with thermal fuses? It wouldn't seem to add much to the cost.