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During the past five weeks, while I've been eating locally, biking or walking instead of driving and cutting out chemical-laden household cleaners, I've made an even easier change: turning the lights off when I’m not in a room. I'd like to say I've always done this, but I like my rooms bright. Really bright.
But after reading chapter five, "Greening Your Home," I'm realizing that just using fewer lights—even though they have environmentally friendly CFL bulbs—isn't really enough. It's not just the lights: every appliance we keep plugged in draws electricity—known as phantom power—even when it's not in use. Consumer electronics, like camera chargers, printers, and televisions, receive 75 percent of the power they draw when they're turned off.
So this week, instead of just switching off the things I don't use all the time, I'm unplugging them. After breakfast, I unplug the coffeemaker, the toaster oven, and all our cell phone and headset chargers. During the day, I switch off the strip with the television, DVD player, and Wii (I keep the cable box on because I like the clock, although I suppose I could get a battery powered one). It's not a huge change, but it's a simple one—and it makes a big difference.
More about phantom power:
Save Energy by Avoiding Phantom Power: Part 1
Save Energy by Avoiding Phantom Power: Part 2
More about going green at home:
Green Home Tweaks
Goodbye Clutter, Hello Green
Wattson: Monitor Your Home's Energy Usage
Buy the Book! Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living
Blythe Copeland is a freelancer writer living on Long Island. Read more about her foray into the green life in her previous columns as she follows the plan set out in the book Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living.
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