Green Options

We’ve seen lots of tools recently to stop vampire power— the power used by electronics when they’re off and still plugged in— but the Standby Kill Chip may be the best. The chip is installed directly in electronics or power strips. It uses an algorithm that senses when an electronic device is in standby mode and shuts it off.

Okay, time to get up and get some exercise. Turn off that computer, DVD player, Playstation and TV and get out there! But wait . . . are they really off? According to Madrid based company Good for You, Good for the Planet, the answer is no.

Good for You, Good for the Planet’s Jorge Alonso Garcia says that nearly “100%” of electronic devices remain on standby mode after they’ve been turned off. “This is so that they can be quickly turned on again,” he explains.

So What Does the Device Do?

100%Off, the device designed by Good for You, is a microprocessor which uses algorithms to detect a decline in the flow of electricity being sent to an electronic device or appliance. Once 100%Off has detected a decline, it completely shuts the device or appliance off. (The amount of time 100% off waits before a complete shutdown of the device is configurable through programming.)

In essence, 100%Off stops the flow of electricity to a device while the device is still plugged in. Unplugging a device is easy, but do your really want to risk a hernia and move that 800lb entertainment center away from the wall to pull out the plug every night? Good for You is betting that the answer is again, no.

I cover a lot of upcoming or future technology, but it’s time to step into the present and aim for the past. Today we’re going to look at a technology available right now that can make some wanton energy waste history. It’s a surge protector that stakes the hearts of vampire electronics without hassling you, the sleeping victim.

Vampire appliances are pretty much anything you can plug in that still sucks energy when it’s supposedly turned off. Some are pretty obvious - the clocks on your microwave or VCR/DVD player burn all day, everyday. We know they’re not “off” because we cans see their LEDs glow. But other electronics, from your television to your cell phone charger also draw power when they’re plugged in but not in use. Check out a handy graph from Good Magazine. Some gadgets are notorious, like your plasma TV. Estimates claim that 5% or more of U.S. energy usage is insidiously wasted by “stand-by mode” or certain misleading “off” buttons. A whopping 5% may not sound like much, but it adds up to about $1 Billion dollars per year - and energy prices will probably continue to rise.

Be honest - how many times would you go around the house unplugging everything before it got old? Smart greenies have been switching off their surge protectors, but it’s easy to forget while watching your favorite late-night TV show or blogging at 4am. So what can we do about these metal-toothed Nosferatu in our midst? How about a surge protector that turns off all your appliances for you?