Reducing the wasted energy of power packsCan you name the ubiquitous electrical device that, according to Environmental Protection Agency estimates, wastes about half of the $11 billion worth of electricity it consumes each year? If you think it's something big and bulky, such as the refrigerator or electric dryer, you're wrong.
According to Andrew Fanara of the EPA, it is the power pack that provides power to cordless tools, telephones, cellphones, many appliances, and most electronic products including computers and games. About 2 billion power packs are shipped worldwide each year and more than 3 billion are in use in the United States. With existing power pack technology, more than half of the electricity used to power most home electronics products is consumed while the products are not even on, but on standby, he said. At this rate, Fanara says, consumer electronics and small appliances will be responsible for more than 40 percent of all household electricity use by 2015, compared with about 4 percent today. Fanara helps direct the agency's Energy Star program, which promotes the development and marketing of energy-efficient products. He and his staff think a new design standard for power packs could help cut the waste in half, and are working to achieve one; Fanara recently returned from a negotiating session in China, where most of the world's power packs are manufactured. He says that with input from manufacturers worldwide, new energy-efficiency standards could emerge by fall, with some power packs sporting an Energy Star designation as early as the end of the year. Fanara concedes the more efficient products could be "marginally more expensive" than power packs available today but should save consumers money over the long run. Another possibility, he said, is that the industry may choose to offer higher-grade, more-efficient power packs that can work with more than one kind of consumer product, potentially further reducing energy use and reducing clutter around the home and office. Another EPA program is seeking to squeeze greater efficiency from another, similarly invisible energy consumer -- television sets. As of July 1, the Energy Star specification for TVs changed to lower the standby power requirements for analog TVs from 3 watts to 1 watt. Non-Energy Star-qualified TVs use about 6 watts. Again, according to EPA estimates, if half of all US households replaced their existing TV with an Energy Star model, the change would be like shutting down a large electric power plant. Even compact fluorescent light bulbs, long a staple product for energy savers, are continuing to improve. A few years ago, first-generation screw-in fluorescent bulbs were clunky, not always so compact, and not always reliable. Michelle Chaffee Welch, a Marshfield science teacher and homeowner, recalls "when we first started using them they were all bulky and rarely fit into the light fixtures in a typical home." Indeed, the bulbs often required accessories or lamp modifications in order to fit, and even then were sometimes too heavy, too oddly shaped, or too low power to really do the job. Nowadays, though, thanks in part to the EPA's Energy Star initiative, getting light bulbs to fit is a cinch and making the choice of energy-efficient bulbs is as much a matter of practicality as of politics. Chaffee Welch said newer energy-efficient compact fluorescents, which she has installed all over her house, are a good fit in almost any kind of fixture, provide ample light, and make a definite impact on her family's monthly electric bill. "They cost more than incandescent light bulbs to buy, but because they last so much longer and use less electricity, you save money in the long run," she said. According to the EPA, compact fluorescents use two-thirds less energy and last at least 6 times longer than conventional bulbs -- which translates into a net savings of $25 per bulb over the product's service life. Solange Han, a spokeswoman for the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships Inc., a Lexington-based nonprofit that focuses on conservation, says her organization's regional Energy Star promotions have helped transform the marketplace for energy-efficient products in New England, New York, and New Jersey, generating more than $200 million in Energy Star lighting sales and saving an estimated 560 million kilowatt hours per year -- equivalent to the annual electricity needs of more than 78,000 homes. The effort's most obvious success has been bringing down the price of compact fluorescent bulbs from an average shelf price of $10 in 2000 to as low as $1 per bulb today.
The program has also boosted sales of energy-efficient clothes washers to 20 percent above the national average, saving 36 million kilowatt hours per year, equivalent to the annual electricity needs of more than 5,000 homes. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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