Plug load also has a large effect on commercial building energy consumption. An interesting example is the Bullitt Center in Seattle. The Bullitt Center is one of the world’s greenest office buildings. Interestingly, electronics account for a quarter of the buildings electricity use. So what are they going to do to reduce this number? Install smart power strips that automatically turn off when there is no occupancy. Pretty cool, right??

To reduce your plug load at home and at the office install power strips and remember to turn them off when you are not there. Not all of us can install such fancy power strips-but a good ol’ simple one will work just fine! Add this to your energy challenge actions to see how it can help reduce your energy use and carbon footprint.

 Electricity use via plug loads, due to our legions of devices, is becoming more noticed and is starting to be addressed. It is no longer something that is just shrugged off as insignificant. And given our penchant for more and more devices, plug load will remain a growing concern. -Steven Castle, Green Tech Advocates

EIA, Green Tech Advocates

All electronics that use a remote or have any sort of light such as speakers, microwave,  or clocks are using standby power. How to solve this? Turn off and UNPLUG electronics when they are not in use. Use power strips to make this task easier. Below is a list  and cost of the average wattage use of some common electronics when in standby or off mode. Costs are approximate and differ on each states electric rate.

Lawrence Berkley National Labratory

Flip the Switch- Minnesota Energy Challenge

The electronics that use vampire energy are ones that have a remote or some kind of little light that is on all the time. And any chargers for  an iPod, computer or cellphone that are left plugged into the wall, all day.

How many electronics can you find in your house that are using vampire energy? Once you find them all you have to do to save energy is unplug it from the wall when  you are not using them. Ta da! You are saving energy!

Learn more on ”flipping the switch!”

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A plug load is basically any piece of equipment or electronics that plugs into an outlet in a building, including televisions, cell phone chargers, laptops, entertainment equipment, and blenders. Larger appliances are often considered to be a separate category, but are sometimes also categorized as plug loads.

When designing a building to meet code, or to estimate energy use, designers generally take major building systems, such as lighting and HVAC, and major appliances, such as refrigeration and wet cleaning equipment, into account. But it is much harder to estimate all the plug loads that buildings occupants will bring with them. And plug loads have been increasing over time as people accumulate gadgets and equipment. As the other loads in a building are driven down through increased equipment efficiency, optimized controls, and behavioral changes, plug loads are a sizeable percentage of the remaining load.

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There have been a number of efforts to regulate the efficiency of certain plug loads – California approved television efficiency standards in 2009.

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Martin Holladay, at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, describes the importance of taking plug loads into account when calculating building energy use in a post here.

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A California Plug-Load Energy Efficiency Center is being planned and will be hosted by the University of California, Irvine. My understanding is that it will be modeled after the California Lighting Technology Center and the Western Cooling Efficiency Center, both located at UC Davis.

A pdf of the PowerPoint slides from the planning workshop can be read here.

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What exactly does “sustainability” mean? How about “green”, “eco” or “environmentally friendly”? The truth is that these terms are just vague enough to mean many different things to many different people. With the staggering array of “green” products, ‘lifestyles’ and concepts being promoted by marketers and environmentalists alike (as well as the necessary coining of new terms to match new ideas) our definition series aims to make sense of the rising tide of “eco-lingo” and technical terms.

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Controlling plug loads is an often overlooked strategy in energy cost reduction.

An often overlooked component in both high-performance building design and the energy management system (EMS) of existing buildings is plug load, the term that describes all the equipment within a building that is plugged into outlets. According to estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), equipment loads comprise approximately 18% of a U.S. commercial building’s electrical load, exceeded only by HVAC and lighting. In addition to direct energy consumption, plug loads tend to increase the internal heat load, thereby increasing cooling costs.

While replacing all non-Energy Star office machines with Energy Star-rated equipment may seem like a common sense approach to instant plug load reduction, this is not always economically feasible. Energy Star equipment costs 20-100% more than most existing equipment, but saves less than 10% in energy. For purchases of new machines, however, particularly equipment that runs 24/7, such as main servers or security systems, energy efficiency should remain a key criterion.
In an environment where exceptional computing capacity is not needed, the use of laptops, which consume about 25% of the power of desktops, may be considered. LCD screens save 50% in energy over CRT screens, take up less space and ultimately contribute less to the electronic waste stream.

Controlling phantom loads is another essential strategy in overall plug load reduction. Phantom load occurs in equipment that consumes energy in standby mode, including fax machines, copiers and microwave ovens. Of these so-called “energy vampires”, some may simply be unplugged when not in use, however, those with long startup times, such as copiers, for example, can be shut off overnight to cuts costs without compromising productivity. The use of power strips and tying the equipment to the security system for auto shut-off are practical and simple solutions.

Occupancy sensors offer energy savings by powering off unoccupied equipment. The sensors are primarily used for non-essential peripheral equipment, task lights, speakers, and monitors. Shutting off power to PCs is debatable, due to the potential of losing unsaved work. As built-in auto-save features become the standard, occupancy sensors for PCs or using the security system to turn off computer circuits may become feasible. EPA sponsored research on these issues is underway.