Dear Dot,
What’s the deal with “phantom” power? Does turning off my coffee maker each night really make any difference? Or should I focus on the big things, like buying an EV?
–Leonard
Dear Leonard,
The Short Answer: Phantom power sucks roughly 10 percent of a home’s energy use, sometimes even when your devices aren’t charging or hooked up at all. You can exorcize it by:
•Unplugging items when not in use
•Using power strips with timers
Beneath your simple “should I do this or that,” you ask a deeper question, and it’s one that plagues many of us: Does what I do make a difference? Whether that “what” is big or small, does it ultimately matter?
So let me first ask you to consider that our daily lives consist of many, mostly small, decisions. What to wear when we roll out of bed, what to put in our morning mug, what to eat, how to transport ourselves to work or an appointment or a visit with friends. Whether to pour ourselves a glass of water or grab it in a bottle; whether to book a train trip or a flight. Decisions that, made by you and me alone, don’t make much of a difference at all if we’re looking strictly at the math of carbon emissions, but choices that, when added to similar choices made by millions of others (again, looking at the math) add up to huge change. Transformational change.
But there’s more to life than math (says the English major). Even if our choices didn’t help create transformational change because nobody else was making similar ones, I argue they would still be worth it. Those choices reflect a value system that asserts that all life is worth protecting. They help us build a life that feels meaningful and purposeful. We feel more connected to those around us — humans and non-humans — when our decisions factor into their well-being, whether it’s turning our car off instead of idling, buying from a local retailer, or filling our bird feeder.
I can only speak for myself, Leonard, but when I feed that connection, I am happier. I am more hopeful, which can be a rare state when one is engaged in climate work. Some eco-conscious choices can be inconvenient. There are times, I confess, when Dot is tired and simply wants to soak up Ted Lasso with some takeout curry. And that’s where self-compassion plays a role. Don’t beat yourself up when you opt for the dinner that comes in styrofoam containers (though don’t hesitate to ask the establishment if they’ve considered eco-friendly options, or if they will allow you to provide your own).
Of course the big choices matter — an electric vehicle, heat pumps, solar panels, taking the train. But why not go for the simple too? Which brings us to phantom power.
Phantom power, for those who aren’t familiar with the term, isn’t the realization that poltergeists are living in your attic (though who’s to say they’re not?). Sometimes also called “standby power,” it refers to the roughly 10 percent of a home’s energy sucked by various devices in your house, whether or not they are in use. Likely culprits include anything with a blinking light or LED display — a stereo, a coffee maker, a computer monitor, but also chargers for electronics, even when your devices aren’t charging or hooked up at all. The old advice was to unplug anything you didn’t need from the wall, but given the ever-increasing number of appliances and gadgets in our homes, that’s no longer practical.
What can you do? Depends on the device:
- Coffee maker: If it doesn’t have a clock or automated brewing system, it’s not drawing power. If there is any LED display, unplug it when you’re not actively brewing a cuppa.
- Microwave and other countertop appliances: Unplug when not in use.
- TVs, DVD players (for the Luddites), and assorted cable boxes: Plug everything into a power strip and turn it off when on holiday or not using.
- Laptop/phone chargers: If you’re not actively charging your electronics, unplug chargers from the wall.
- Gaming consoles: Plug into a power strip and turn it off when not using.
- Printers: Same as for gaming consoles.
- Vacuums/power tools: Unplug when they have finished charging.
- Curling irons/shavers/blow dryers: Unplug when not in use.
To boost convenience, purchase power strips with timers so that items are turned off automatically. Group items that are typically used together and plug them into a single power bar (TVs, cable boxes, and game systems, for instance; computers, monitors, and printers).
We sometimes forget when we’re taking steps to lighten our load on the earth that we also directly benefit by saving money. Maybe not enough to pay for that EV, but enough, my pal Leonard, to keep it charged.
Energetically,
Dot
