Getting rid of the vampires
When arriving at our summerhouse a few weeks ago, I had to charge my mobile phone. This is usually an easy task, someone in my family often has a similar mobile phone as me and I can just plug in and use their charger. But this summer this wasn’t the case, the whole power outlet was filled with different types of chargers, for mobile phones, mp3-players, cameras, a camcorder, laptops…none of which matched mine. I had a look in my bag and found (of course) even more, today almost every IT-product has its own unique AC/DC power adapter.
This is crazy! And what is even scarier is that people usually leaves these chargers in the power outlets, not realizing that they are vampire load, sucking electricity even when there is no device attached to be charged. And for a “normal” family with a few children, this means quite a lot of chargers just sitting there, consuming.
In the U.S. there are more than 1.5 Billion of these adapters in use, with a billion new ones shipped every year. The average American home has five to ten of these components powering devices in their homes. The U.S. EPA estimates 11% of all electricity used passes through adapters, and 30-50% of power is lost in conversion.
But things are happening. I am pleased that the mobile industry has decided to develop a universal mobile phone charger (using the Micro-USB technology as the common charging interface) – this will save energy as well as make our lives easier (I’ve spent years looking for the right charger and kicking myself every time I forgot my charger while travelling). Also, both the EU directive on the eco-design of Energy-using Products (EuP) and the US EPA have developed regulations governing both efficiency and stand-by mode of AC/DC power adapters.
But until all of this is in place – please remember to unplug all your power adapters when you’re not using them!