3 On Your Side: Tips For Cutting Electricity Costs
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- TV's, computers, video games, streaming devices. They're devices we use each and every day. But all of those devices use a lot of electricity. If you're looking to cut costs, 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan finds there are ways to save.
Americans are spending more time in front of a screen than ever before and it's creating some pricey power bills.
"The consumer electronics in your home might be using two refrigerators worth of electricity each year," said Noah Horowitz with the Natural Resource Defense Council.
Ten to 20 percent of your total electric bill is going to power things like your television, game console and computer.
And when it comes to cable boxes, many times it doesn't matter if they're on or off.
A device measures how much energy an appliance is using.
Plug in a cable box while it's on and it measures about 25 watts. Turn the box off, it only goes down to 24.
"The industry is working hard to make those better," said Horowitz.
Requesting an energy star 4.0 set top box from your provider can help.
And tweaking your current television's picture settings to something less bright can help you save a lot right now.
"If you pick something like vivid it will be overly bright and use 30 percent more power than necessary," said Horowitz.
Finally, for computers, whenever possible, think portable.
Desktops use four times more power than laptops and when you're finished using it, shut it down.
So while limiting your family's screen time may continue to be a struggle, at least you can limit how much energy those screens use.
