jmke

What if we could reduce carbon dioxide emissions and cut electricity bills without adding any cost to consumer electronics? Oh, and what if we could cut down the size of the ginormous "wall warts" clogging up spike bars across the globe?

This is the promise of a global initiative to cut down on standby power. Standby power is the current drawn by devices which are switched "off"—where "off" means a low-power state in which the device is not performing its primary function.

This is power used when a television set is switched off, but waits in silence for the code from a remote control that will cause it to spring to life once more. It's the power used by the clock on the microwave oven, the red LED glowing on your home stereo, and the power brick on the cell phone charger—even when no phone is attached.

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