The Media's Answer To Phantom Load Is... A Load.

Saving energy seems to be in fashion. Recently on TV, in community papers, and on the Internet, I've been reading about the problem of "phantom load" and what we can do about it. The media wants to be as helpful as possible and point out energy-efficiency low-hanging fruit for all to enjoy. (Yes, I have replaced nearly all of my light bulbs with CFLs.) But, dealing with phantom load is not as easy as the media sometimes makes it out to be.

If you're not familiar with phantom load, it is this: There are many devices we keep plugged in all the time even though we aren't using them all the time. Such devices include televisions, DVD players, some computer peripherals such as printers, and almost all power adapters and device chargers, also known as "wall warts" (yuck!) Phantom load refers to the electricity consumed by these devices when they aren't actively in use. Often the guilty devices have no on/off function, or an on/off function that would be better described as on/sleep.

For instance, even when turned "off", modern TVs continue to draw some electricity to respond to remote control events and maintain the internal clock and other settings. The charger for a cell phone, when left plugged in, still consumes some electricity even though the phone might not be attached. And so on.

A few references to phantom load that I have come across in the media have generally painted the solution to the problem in simplistic terms: Just plug your phantom load devices into a power bar (power strip), and turn them "really off" via the power bar's on/off switch when not in use! So simple.

While this solution might appeal to journalists who don't know any better (and might come by it honestly), it isn't practical. Technical people know that any device that keeps time (such as a VCR) usually needs to be reprogrammed when you plug it in again. Worse than just losing the time, many modern TV sets "forget" what channels are available and need to be "autoprogrammed" again before being usable. Fancy digital cable boxes that more of us are using to get quality HDTV content also require extensive initialization if power is cut. It sometimes takes minutes for my digital cable receivers to reboot and retrieve interactive program guide data from the cable company network. Then, many devices that can remember preferences or options tend to lose those, too.

So, don't believe everything you read as being as simple as stated, and don't go crazy with the power bars. What can you do, though?

Power adapters and device chargers can and should be unplugged when not in use. If your phone or MP3 player is not attached for charging, then there is no issue with unplugging the adapter except for the inconvenience of having to plug it in again later.

When it comes to other devices, we need to turn to the manufacturers to ultimately address the problem of phantom load. Manufacturers should eliminate phantom load if not necessary — for instance, I don't want a clock on my microwave oven! When phantom load is necessary, manufacturers should ensure it is minimized.

I also call upon manufacturers to provide more information to consumers about phantom load and energy consumption in general. For instance, I would like to know at a glance how much electricity a product would consume during a year if I plugged it in and never used it. I'd also like to know how much a product would consume if turned on and used a reasonable number of hours. Why don't they print that information on product boxes and in product literature? Enable us to compare products on the basis of energy consumption.

So — to the media — please do continue to educate the masses about energy efficiency issues like phantom load. But, please cut the load and stop regurgitating these simplistic and impractical solutions. Let's point the finger at manufacturers and get them doing something about it.