Every second a thousand barrels of oil/gas is consumed in the world. There are 42 gallons in a barrel (not to be confused with 55 gallons in a drum).
Unless you live wild in a cave, YOU use electrical energy and fuel energy. Look around at this moment and find what things are using energy in your home. Some you have a choice of turning ON and OFF. But now we have a third choice and it is called NEVER! This means you do not have a choice (phantom energy users – gadgets that have components that need energy around the clock 24 hours per day seven days a week). So now while we sleep, not only is your body conserving energy during rest, but your house gadgets are USING energy while you are not using them.
Your car in the garage (if it is fairly new it is using battery energy while it is parked for certain functions),
As you look around here are some typical examples:
~Lamp (day or night – sometimes both),
~Clock (it may be plugged in to an outlet or it gets its energy from a battery, if so, you paid up front for that battery for futuristic energy,
~Computer (usually can contain several gadgets that are also attached using energy and LEDs*,
~Home security panel (may or may not contain a LED(s)*,
~Monitor for computer (may be on standby mode or screen saver mode),
~Night lights through out the home (LEDs*),
~TV (if it is off it may still be using energy to keep the remote control settings, its built in clock and timer to go off or come on, it may even have a bright shinning LED* etc),
~Radio (energy for the blinking numbers, timer, clock or an LED* is shinning brightly),
~Illuminated Wall Switch Plates (LED(s)*),
~Microwave Oven (blinking clock or just numbers 00:00 – on and off 24/7),
~Coffee Maker,
~Refrigerator (some new electronic ones have LEDs* and a display status panel (bells & whistles),
~And other numerous electronic gadgets found throughout the home, yard landscaping, garage, etc.
To find out what a particular electronic device uses in electricity, look on the sticker which is usually on the back or underneath the device for example: 15A 125VAC 60HZ Made in U.S.A.
To Find Watts:
~ Look for the watts on your electric gadget, or on the info booklet or sheet that came with it.
~ If by chance there is no Watts figure, only amps and volts (often appearing as VAC), multiply the AMPS by the VOLTS to get the amount of WATTS. Example: 15A 125VAC 60HZ (15A x 125V = 1877 Watts).
Steps to find what a Fifty Watt Appliance will cost for one month:
A. 100W x 24 hours/day = 2400 Watts……..(the appliance is used 24 hours per day)
B. 2400 divided by 1000 = 2.4 kWh…………2.4 is the result of dividing by 1000 kWh
……………………………………………………………(“kilo Watt hours”)
C. 2.4 x $0.12 = $0.288/day…………………($0.12 (twelve cents) per day cost to run
D. $0.288/day x 30 = $8.64/month…………daily cost ($0.12) x number of days
……………………………………………………………in month (e.g. 30 days)
If you have ever ridden in a Taxi, think of your electrical gadgets as being a Taxi Meter.
When you flip the light switch ON the meter starts running to empty your wallet. This goes for anything electrical in your home. Those meters are ticking away. So when you leave a room, turn OFF those meters if possible. Save some money and some energy. Think of the coal, trees, gas, oil, barrels, nuclear fuel, transport of energy costs and hydro generated energy you will help save.
*LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. A semiconductor diode has several definitions but in this case it is an electronic device that restricts current flow chiefly to one direction. They typically emit a single wavelength of light when charged by electricity. Think of it as a tiny, tiny, tiny light bulb and only a very small amount of electricity is permitted to go through this tiny bulb to create the illumination you see as a bright light (originally red, now yellow, green, blue, white). The tip of the probe inside the tiny glass enclosure determines the color emitted. To illuminate red and yellow, “aluminum indium gallium phosphide” (AlInGaP) is used. To emit red and blue, “Indium gallium nitride” (InGaN). To emit white light just add phosphor. It is also known as a phantom electricity user. You have no choice to turn it directly off (most of the time), it is built in as part of the electronic device you purchased to use (clock radio, computer, microwave, a charger, coffee maker, etc.). It just comes on when you plug in the device.
T Boone Pickens
He has an idea to help solve our energy crisis. Check his sight out at and get behind this plan. We need an
energy plan. His plan is Solar, Wind, Natural Gas and other fuels that we have in waiting to tap and put into a U.S. Something we don’t have presently and while we are at it – fire the dead wood at the Department of Energy for doing nothing for the last 25 years.
Remember: ON vs. OFF.
(to be continueds as the price of energy is due to greed and people’s distraction of what is really going on)
