KIUC Linemen All Geared Up - Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

ENERGY SERVICES
How Come My Computer and TV Still
Use Electricity When They Are Off?
Kukui Grove First
Fridays at the Mall
2011 light bulb
exchange dates:
October 7
November 4
December 2
4 KIUC CURRENTS
By Anne Barnes
“This interesting and frequently asked question,
fitting to this time of year, is about so­called
“phantom loads.”
Thanks to microprocessors, many appliances
and electronic devices continue to draw electricity
even when they are not being used. When you
turn off appliances and electronic equipment, you
probably assume they no longer are consuming
electricity. But just because the switch says “off”
doesn’t mean the device isn’t using electricity.
The problem of phantom loads is fairly recent.
Prior to the advent of microprocessors, when you
turned off an appliance or electrical equipment, it
really was off. But in the 1970s, television
manufacturers began offering an “instant­on”
feature. When you turned the TV on, the picture
and sound came on immediately, rather than
taking time to warm up. The price of this “I want it
now” feature was that the TV used a small
amount of electricity to remain in a ready state.
“Instant­on” was soon followed by remote
controls, which required the same tiny amount of
power to be ever present. On the heels of remote
controls came the videocassette recorder and the
digital timer, which needed a little electricity to
remember the time. Before long, these features
were part of a growing number of devices:
answering machines, electric razors, modems,
microwave ovens, coffeemakers, personal
computers, TV cable boxes, battery chargers,
assorted cordless devices and satellite TV systems.
Anything that uses clocks, memory, remote
control, microprocessors and instant­on features
consumes electricity whenever plugged in: 24
hours a day, seven days a week. While no single
phantom load will break the household budget,
the cumulative effect adds up to a waste of
electricity.