Appliance power drain not wellknown: survey

Ontario Power Authority Power Pledge encourages energy conservation to cut phantom power and electricity usage, promoting Energy Star appliances, smart power bars with auto shutoff, home energy audits, and retiring old refrigerators and freezers.

The majority of Ontarians are in the dark about just how much electricity consumption their home electronic appliances are responsible for, a new survey suggests.

According to the Ontario Power Authority, devices such as computers, printers and VCRs can account for 15 per cent of a homes annual electricity usage. But a poll conducted for the agency by HarrisDecima suggests that three in four Ontario residents arent aware of the drain household electronic appliances can have, even when theyre shut off, or of ways to save on your power bill like simple plug load fixes.

The Ontario Power Authority says a household consuming 1,000 kilowatt hours a month under time-of-use pricing structures could be paying up to $100 a year for what amounts to phantom power.

However, the poll suggests that people in Ontario are willing to take action to curb their electricity usage. Threequarters of those surveyed say they are open to the idea of plugging appliances into power bars with automatic shutoff and Earth Hour participation to raise awareness.

To help promote power conservation, the Ontario Power Authority is launching a fivemonth campaign in Ontario called the Power Pledge, which aims to reduce electricity usage, as seen in recent provincial usage cuts across communities, save money and help protect the environment.

It will remind consumers of initiatives such as buying Energy Star appliances, taking a home energy audit and enrolling in the Peaksaver program offered by local utilities, and getting rid of old refrigerators and freezers that can reduce their power draw.

We calculate that a family taking just a few of these actions could save approximately $300 a year, said Colin Andersen, Ontario Power Authority CEO, in a release.

The HarrisDecima poll surveyed 656 Ontario residents between March 18 and 28. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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