{"id":6762,"date":"2014-07-02T13:33:41","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T20:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unrbep.org\/?p=6762"},"modified":"2014-07-02T13:33:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-02T20:33:41","slug":"report-vampire-equipment-sucking-power-and-draining-wallets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/report-vampire-equipment-sucking-power-and-draining-wallets\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Vampire equipment sucking power and draining wallets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted on July 2, 2014
\nSource: Fuel Fix.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The price people pay for always-on, around-the-clock Internet connections with modems, cell phones and laptops may be higher than they think.<\/p>\n

According to a new report from the International Energy Agency,<\/a><\/b> all of those networked electronic devices are sucking up a whole lot of electricity \u2014 mostly just to maintain their Internet connections \u2014 generating $80 billion worth of wasted power in 2013.<\/p>\n

For the average household, the bill runs to \u201cmany tens of dollars per year, per device,\u201d said Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the Paris-based IEA. \u201cThis may not sound like much, but in 2013, the cumulative impact of 14 billion such devices was \u2026 unnecessary operation of over 130 mid-sized coal plants producing around 400 terawatt hours of electricity and all the pollution and carbon emissions that goes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Power vampires: Household items draining power<\/a><\/b>
\n
\nThe problem is expected to worsen as our homes become even more wired, with network connectivity spreading to washing machines, refrigerators, thermostats and even coffee pots. In 2013, there were an average of 10 network-enabled devices for every home with two teenagers in a developed country. By 2022, according to the IEA, that count will soar to 50.<\/p>\n

Van der Hoeven said the world\u2019s networked devices are inefficient, consuming too much power just to maintain their connections in a \u201cstandby\u201d mode where they are ready for action at any given moment. Many network-enabled devices \u2014 be they set-top cable boxes or printers \u2014 now draw as much power listening for signals in standby mode as when they are actively performing their primary functions.<\/p>\n

But the IEA says that manufacturers could rein in 65 percent of that energy use by implementing best available technologies today.<\/p>\n

\u201cAddressing this energy waste, through technology and policy solutions already available, could lead to energy savings that correspond to the annual electricity generated by 133 mid-size coal-fired power plants (500 megawatts each), each requiring 1.4 million tons of coal per year,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unnecessary costs\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Without changes, the wasted power tied to the 50-billion network-connected devices expected to be running in 2020 could amount to $120 billion dollars in \u201cunnecessary costs to consumers,\u201d van der Hoeven said in unveiling the IEA\u2019s paper.<\/p>\n

In its 175-page report, the IEA urges a host of changes to stem the growing electricity demand of equipment in standby mode, with action needed from consumers and manufacturers, as well as policymakers.<\/p>\n

IEA suggests that regulations could help drive efficiency improvements across the value chain, with software developers designing solutions to stem the power waste, manufacturers integrating the changes, Internet service providers deploying more efficient equipment and consumers making better choices in buying and running the devices.<\/p>\n

Policy prescription<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the absence of strong market drivers for energy efficiency, concerted global policy action is needed to curb escalating electricity demand from devices in network standby mode,\u201d the IEA report says.<\/p>\n

Older government policies that target equipment that can be simply turned \u201coff\u201d or \u201con\u201d \u2014 without a third standby or sleep option \u2014 need to be updated to govern electricity demand for the latest technology, the group says.<\/p>\n

Some work is already under way in the United States, where Energy Star efficiency standards for appliances and equipment typically do not include discrete limits for different power modes and instead generally set a standard for total energy consumption. There are specific standby power requirements for some devices, such as microwave ovens.<\/p>\n

Program: Texas school partners with Microsoft for energy efficiency research<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

After the U.S. Department of Energy drafted provisions to add set-top boxes and network devices to one of its efficiency programs, the industry in 2013 voluntarily reached an agreement to rein in the devices\u2019 \u00a0power use. Under the agreement with the government, \u00a0providers and manufacturers, 90 percent of all new set-top boxes purchased and deployed after 2013 must meet the government\u2019s Energy Star 3.0 efficiency standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted on July 2, 2014 Source: Fuel Fix.com WASHINGTON \u2014 The price people pay for always-on, around-the-clock Internet connections with modems, cell phones and laptops may be higher than they think. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, all of those networked electronic devices are sucking up a whole lot of electricity … Continue reading Report: Vampire equipment sucking power and draining wallets<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,15],"tags":[238,68,236,237,239,235],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6763,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762\/revisions\/6763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unrbep.org\/dealerportal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}