That there is a possibility that the world may run out of fossil fuels used to produce energy has been heralded by different organizations and entities throughout the world. In this light, energy conservation and efficient usage efforts and practices have been ramped up in the past several years. In fact, most people mitigate the risks of an energy crisis by adopting energy saving practices at home. According to studies, however, a great deal of what is being practiced at home is not as effective as most of us think. We selected four of the most popular energy saving myths and took a close look at why they aren't completely working and at what should be done to improve on them.
Practice no. 1: Using screen savers to save energy
Using screen savers on your computer does not prompt your machine to go into energy saving mode. In fact, a screen saver is actually a file running on your computer, which means that as the screen saver cycles, your machine is working even harder. It is advisable to deactivate screen savers and set your computers to sleep after 10 or 15 minutes of inactivity instead. It is also a good idea to turn your monitor off during times of inactivity.
Practice no. 2: Not turning a computer off because starting from power-off consumes more electricity
When a computer is constantly on sleep mode and never turned off, it still consumes a significant amount of energy required for it to be readily awake if necessary. In fact, both the computer and the monitor are drawing power to keep themselves in suspended mode. It is advisable to put your computer off when it will not be in use for a long period of time. In fact, you can automatically set your computer to shut down at certain times.
Practice no. 3: Turning appliances off without unplugging
It is true that turning gadgets and appliances off when not in use will save energy. Keeping them plugged, however, will still result in a considerable electricity consumption, owing to what is called “vampire power”. When appliances are kept plugged, they still take electricity from the wall socket. The easiest way to counter this is to unplug things that are not in use.
Practice no. 4: Leaving an appliance on, because turning it off and on often shortens its lifespan
It used to be true that putting appliances or lights off and on often would reduce their potential lifespan. But, that is no longer the case today. Technology has taken a huge leap that lights, appliances and gadgets can be turned off and on anytime without harming them. Remember, leaving something on for more than a brief period of time uses more energy than shutting it off when not needed and turning back on when in use.
Fossil fuels are finite resources, and with today’s massive energy requirements, drying it up is not a far-fetched scenario. In these crucial times, even the littlest of energy conservation effort carried out at home, when done collectively, can go a long way. It is much better, however, if one maximizes the results with even a slight change in practice.
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