Oct 8 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Emily Le Coz Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo, Miss.

Home and business owners faced with record-high heating prices this winter will want to save energy where ever they can.

They'll turn down the thermostat, weather-strip the windows, maybe even replace that old furnace to combat projected heating increases of up to 72 percent between October and March.

But few will think to stop the steady siphoning of energy that occurs where they least suspect it: Many everyday appliances, when they're turned off, continue to consume an average $100 a year from the typical household, according to some estimates.

That will buy a week of groceries for the average Northeast Mississippi family. But applied to all of America's 103 million households, it adds up to more than $10 billion annually in lost energy.

Colorado-based Solar Energy International placed the nationwide expenditure much lower, estimating that America uses $3 billion annually to power electronics while they're turned off. That's still the equivalent output of 10 power plants -- or the pollution of 6 million cars, the company said.

"I didn't know about phantom energy," said Tupelo resident Renita Ware. "I'm going to be doing other things to save money this year, like replacing gas longs with electrical heaters. But I never heard about phantom energy."

Energy solutions Energy experts, though, have known about the situation for years. In 1992, the Environmental Protection Agency launched the ENERGY STAR program to identify and promote energy-efficient products.

Computers and monitors were first to sign up. Since then, thousands of products have joined the list.

Last year alone, according to the program's government-backed Web site, ENERGY STAR helped save "enough energy to power 24 million homes and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 20 million cars -- all while saving $10 billion."

Those products will come in handy this winter as the nation faces an energy challenge. Rising fuel demands coupled with a hurricane-weakened energy infrastructure will boost heating costs.

Rough winter ahead Homeowners in the South will spend 10 -70 percent more to stay warm this winter depending on the fuel type, according to the national Energy Information Administration.

Electricity expenditures will jump by 9.8 percent, propane by 33.4 percent, heating oil by 34.3 percent and natural gas by 72 percent between October and March, the administration said.

To combat those price spikes, energy experts recommend a number of tips -- among those include stopping phantom energy loss:

--Unplug appliances like TVs, VCRs and cable boxes when they're not in use.

--Look for the ENERGY STAR label when purchasing electronics.

--Lower the thermostat to 65 in the winter. According to Atmos Energy, each degree lower can save 1 percent on a monthly bill.

--Having your heating system inspected annually to make sure its operating efficiently.

--Weatherstrip windows and doors.

--Repair leaky faucets that use hot water. Hot water leakss will cause your water heater to heat unncessarily.

--Close off unused areas of your home or business.

 

WHAT IS PHANTOM ENERGY? Phantom energy is the energy that electronic devices and appliances use even when they're turned off.

Example: A TV that's on three hours a day, six days a week will consume 100 kilowatts per year during its "off" time. That's about $8.50 per year per household -- or $875 million for all U.S. households with a TV.

The most abundant consumers of phantom energy are cable boxes, security systems, dishwashers, TVs and VCRs.

Source: Home Energy Magazine