We finally got that Kill-A-Watt we’ve been thinking about, and we spent a good part of last weekend running around the house measuring the energy use of every single piece of electronic equipment we own. It was surprisingly fun. It was also a lot of numbers. (See below.) But we could draw a few conclusions from all of them:

1. The desktop computer is a huge energy hog, even when turned off. It’s also 10 years old and mostly used to store all our music and photos. So we’re planning on getting rid of it this year and replacing it with a network-attached storage device.
2. The cell phones and DS use almost no energy, even when charging, so it doesn’t seem worth getting the power strip I was thinking of.
3. We should always turn the Wii off on the console itself, rather than putting it into standby with the Wiimotes.
4. Our old CRT TV uses much less energy than a comparable LCD TV. We’re going to hold off on replacing it for as long as possible.
5. The heat dry setting on the dishwasher really does use a lot of energy. We’re definitely going to continue leaving it off.
6. Mom was right—don’t hold the refrigerator door open. It uses a ridiculous amount of energy.

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Energy Use of Household Electronics (in watts)

• Mac laptop – 13″ Powerbook G4
  • sleeping: 2
  • off (plugged in): 1-2
  • in use (not charging): 16-32
  • in use (and charging): 49
  • charging (while off): 32
• PC laptop – Dell Latitude D630
  • sleeping: <1
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • in use (not charging): 22-37
  • in use (and charging): 44
  • charging (while off): 61
• Desktop computer – custom built PC
  • off (plugged in): 6
  • in use: 110-121
• Desktop monitor – MagInnovision 46
  • off (plugged in): 2
  • on: 18
• Printer – Canon IP4000
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: <1
  • printing: 11
• Computer speakers – Creative Labs SBS250
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: 1
  • playing: 1
• iPod speaker – JBL Onstage
  • off (plugged in): 2
  • idle: 5
  • charging: 5
  • on: 8-17 (depending on volume)
• Cell phone – Motofone F3
  • idle: <1
  • charging: <1
  • fully charged: <1
• Cell phone – Motorola Razr V3
  • idle: <1
  • charging: 1
  • fully charged: <1
• Nintendo DS Lite
  • idle: <1
  • charging: 3
  • fully charged: <1
• Playstation 2
  • off (plugged in): 2
  • on: 27
• Nintendo Wii
  • off (plugged in) – red light: 1
  • idle – yellow light: 11
  • on – green light: 21
• Apple Airport Extreme: 4
• Tivo – Series 3: 37
• Cable modem – Scientific Atlanta DPC2100: 4
• TV – Sony Trinitron 32″ CRT
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: 53-102 (depending on screen brightness)
• Toothbrush charger – Oral B
  • idle: <1
  • charging: <1
• Coffeemaker – Black & Decker Home Café GT300
  • off (plugged in): 1
  • on: up to 1252
• Toaster – Proctor Silex 22205
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: 832
• Electric teakettle – Presto 0270302: 686
• Refrigerator – General Electric Hotpoint HTS18GBSARWW
  • idle: <1
  • light bulb: 39
  • compressor on: 157
• Bedside clock/light – BioBrite 88631
  • clock: 2
  • light: 9-53
• Washing machine – LG WM0642HW
  • off (plugged in): 3
  • on: 7-439
• Dryer – LG DLG60452W
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • light bulb: 16
  • on: 242
• Dishwasher – Frigidaire FDB641RJS0
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: 22
  • heating water: 927
  • heat dry: 1154
• Roomba 560
  • idle (plugged in): 1
  • charging: 29
  • fully charged: 5
• Paper shredder – Novitech PS026/B2
  • off (plugged in): <1
  • on: <1
  • shredding: 63