Vampire Energy Loss

Although the ROI on new energy saving technologies is pretty quick and justifies the investment, cutting the "Vampire Energy Loss" is an easy way to start saving some money at your facility without having to spend any money to do so. Vampire Energy Loss refers to energy that supplies power to electronic devices and appliances while they are "off" or in "standby"mode. Energy loss equals money loss. How much are we talking here?

The International Energy Association estimated in 2007 that standby/Vampire Energy Loss produced 1% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To put the figure into context, total air travel contributes less than 3% of global CO2 emissions.

Standby power used by older devices can be as high as 10 to 15 watts per device, and occasionally more. Regulations coming into force in many countries following the One Watt Initiative restrict standby power of new equipment to not more than one watt from 2010, 0.5 watts from 2013.

So what can you do at your facility? Here are 4 simple things:

First off, unplug. Take it out of the equation if you can. Many turf departments have a tv in the lunch room for training purposes - Un plug it! That extra computer, grinders, chargers, radios, lights, fans, etc... Are you charging a power cart everyday throughout the winter? When not in use, unplug.
Power Strips. By attaching computers, appliances and battery chargers to a power strip you can easily shut down the lot in one switch. Stand by mode still sucks energy and computers re-boot pretty quickly nowadays. While your at it, if you have a A plasma TV at home, the Department of Energy says it costs approx. $165 a year for its standby power consumption.
Purchase low energy appliances. These are newer appliances with an Energy Star label.
Conservation. Remind your staff to turn off the lights in the bathroom, pump house, office, lunch room, etc when not in use. Here are a few posters, articles to print, and other resources to help educate your staff and keep it in their minds.