5%-10% of residential power can be consumed by devices that are turned 'off'. Best Buy declared 30 October 2008 "National Vampire Awareness Day" The point? Alert customers to the 40% of home electronics energy consumption (and associated carbon emissions) that occurs when devices appear to be off are actually in standby mode. These are called "vampire devices" because the suck energy during the night. Best Buy offers these tips, applicable to home, dorm room, and office:

Consumer Reports (10/08, p 26) compares a 14" 1938 B&W TV with a 50" 2008 plasma unit. Both consume 250 watts of power, which suggests that super-sizing television monitors is offsetting improvements in circuitry. The good news (p23) is that a similar size LCD unit consumes less than 60% of that power. Click here for more on television monitors.

Vertatique has been tracking the Climate Savers initiative over the past year and I'm pleased to see its site continue to grow in value. They now offer a robust set of free software applications to help individuals and enterprises tune the power settings of their equipment. I'll report on these tools as I try them out.

I've previously covered the emerging use of corn-based plastics in e-devices. Now, in its coverage of a new phone using corn bioplastics, The New York Times offers this critique:

"Unfortunately Samsung’s new cellphone relies on a flawed equation:

National Geographic's "High Tech Trash" is loaded with everything from an interactive toxic tour of a computer to an e-waste quiz to stats like ". . . in the U.S. [in 2005], between 1.5 and 1.9 million tons of computers, TVs, VCRs, monitors, cell phones, and other equipment were discarded. If all sources of electronic waste are tallied, it could total 50 million tons a year worldwide . . ." The Photo Gallery tells the story most powerfully - check it out!

Responsible consumers are finding more options available for recycling their e-waste. One innovative approach is BuyMyTronics.com, which offers cash for iPods, iPhones, and game consoles, including broken items. Most existing services just accept e-gagets as donations or even charge for disposal. Here's what I learned when I did a obsolete gadget sweep:

According to a Consumer Reports article, a 50" 1080p plasma display can consume 40% more energy than a comparable 720p unit and twice the energy of a 40" LCD. These differences are significant in the home; they can really add up in a large facility. Weigh the energy impact of screen size, resolution, and technology when specifying displays for purchase.

Consumer electronics suppliers will face growing scrutiny of their sustainability practices from retailers. But consumers need to support these efforts by evolving their behavior. Sierra Magazine reports:

"With the power of a good-size country, Wal-Mart has put the squeeze on its 60,000 suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint. Starting in 2008, the retailer will use data from suppliers to measure the impact of its entire supply chain. The incentive: Wal-Mart promises better placement in stores for products that have addressed sustainability issues."

But adds:

The website for the The Green Book cites a number of statistics that can motive more sustainable use of personal electronics:

"Unplug your power. Ten percent of the electricity used in your home is burned by communication devices and appliances when they are turned off!" (These are sometimes referred to as "vampire devices" because they silently drain power during the night.)

Lots of solar-powered gadgets and chargers at CES 2008, including:
Meraki's solar-powered mesh Wi-Fi
NGR's solar-power device dock
Solio solar-powered universal charger
Voltaic's solar-powered backpacks