Ok, I was just in the middle of watching Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the Tonight Show explaining things you can do to save the environment. If you’ve ever heard someone tell you to unplug things like your hair dryer because it saves energy, don’t believe it. I’m not sure why it drives me crazy, but when celebrities and the media keep misinformed myths going it pushes one of those buttons that makes me do things like write blog posts. Now, the hair dryer isn’t perhaps the best example because you should unplug it anyway. (not because it uses energy when it’s plugged in, it doesn’t, but because it’s a potential fire hazard) For those of you who haven’t taken a class in electronics or physics, the reason unplugging basic devices like hair dryers doesn’t matter is that when they’re switched off, the circuit is broken. (ie: there’s no way for the electrons to flow through the wire, and therefore no energy usage.) It’s the same thing as turning off a light switch. There are loads of devices that DO use energy whenever they’re plugged in and it’s fairly easy to tell the difference. Devices that don’t need to be unplugged are the kind with a physical switch. Devices in this category would be lamps, coffee makers, (the basic kind, with nothing but a switch, ie: no clocks, etc..) most toasters and old-style TVs (ie: the kind you have to walk up to to turn on and change the channel with a dial). Starting to get the picture? The whole point of this isn’t to stop you from unplugging your stuff, because that really is a good thing. Running around unplugging everything with a cord isn’t going to work for most people. It’s just too inconvenient. However, once you realize which devices should be unplugged, you’ve reduced the amount of effort it takes and you know you’re making a difference. So what are some examples of things to unplug you ask?

• AC-to-DC adapters for things like cell phones
• Appliances with digital clocks
• Modern TVs, Desktop Computers and most other “soft-on” appliances.
• Anything with a remote control

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will get you started.  I’ve actually just had an idea about using an X-10 power module to disable other soft-on devices.  While the X-10 module would still draw power, it might be less than what the other connected devices would have been using in their off state.  If you’re ever curious about how much energy your electronic gear is consuming when it’s supposedly off, get yourself a kill-a-watt.  It’s a little meter you plug in-between the device(s) and the outlet.