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Survey of Plug Loads

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		Survey of Plug Loads

In 2006, Ecos Consulting — in cooperation with RLW Analytics and Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and with funding from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program — undertook one of the first comprehensive studies of electric plug load devices in the United States. A plug load is any electrical device that ultimately receives power from an ac wall outlet, ranging from cell phones to small appliances[1]. The research sought to better understand how and when consumers use a subset of plug load products in their homes — particular electronics and appliances with rechargeable batteries — and where significant energy savings opportunities might exist. The team conducted phone surveys of 300 California homes and then metered the plug loads in 50 of these homes using highly accurate plug load power meters. The researchers obtained weeklong power and usage pattern measurements for nearly 700 plug load products in the selected homes. For more information about this research, please contact Laura Moorefield, Project Lead, Ecos Consulting (lmoorefield@ecosconsulting.com).

Click to see which categories of plug load products result in the most energy use...

The results provide an updated synopsis of the energy used by plug loads and miscellaneous devices in total, but the study also provides detail on the largest energy users and corresponding energy savings opportunities:

• Electronic products use anywhere from 1,069 and 1,207 kWh in a typical home, costing each homeowner approximately $150 per year to operate.
• Plug load energy consumption is at least 9% of electricity use in a typical U.S. household and more than 15% for a typical California home.
• On the national scale, these products consume 114 to 146 billion kWh per year or between 3% and 4% of all electricity used in the country. This is enough energy to fully power all of the homes in California and Washington State combined for one year.
• Entertainment products (TVs and their associated peripherals such as DVD players, cable/satellite boxes, etc.) and information technology (computers and their associated peripherals such as printers, scanners, modems, etc.) account for over 90% of the electricity used by plug load devices in a typical home. These two categories of products also represent the largest opportunities for energy savings through the use of more efficient products.

Some of the most effective ways for policymakers and electric utilities to tap into energy savings opportunities in these products are:

• Further tightening standby mode requirements
• Calling for higher efficiency when the product is in operation or “active mode”
• Creating whole-product efficiency specifications that address energy savings opportunities that are unique to individual end uses of electricity like computers or televisions
• Adopting common denominator strategies for small products (where product level specific specifications are less feasible) to improve the efficiency of hundreds of low power products that use external power supplies or battery charger systems

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1. Certain plug load devices were not considered in the scope of this research because their energy use is already well characterized and clearly communicated to consumers. Refrigerators and clothes washers are some examples.

Findings

Energy Use of Plug Load Devices in California Homes: Field Research Report
A comprehensive study of the energy use of plug load devices in typical California homes.