[LINK] Blackle increases power use with small LCD monitors

[Tom Worthington]

At 06:16 PM 4/12/2007, Kim Holburn wrote:

>On 2007/Nov/27, at 8:14 AM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>>... monitor uses 51 W with an image and 7 W in standby  ...
>
>... how much power do those little plug-in transformers actually draw? ...

The power they supply can be calculated from what is written on the 
unit. So for example the ASUS Eee PC has a 9.5 Volt 2.315 Amp supply. 
So 9.5 X 2.315 = 22 Watts.

The power meter I have only measures down to 1 Watt, so is not 
sensitive enough to measure the efficiency of these plug packs, nor 
the amount of power drawn when no device is powered from them. In any 
case, compared to desktop computer, the power used is minimal. This 
is a bit like worrying about how much power the radio in your V8 four 
wheel drive truck is using.

It might be interesting to see if the Chinese approach was taken, 
where mobile phones are charged from USB plugs, if this would save 
power. You would need just one mains adaptor to power one hub to 
charge all you gadgets. That would save having lots of plugpacks. But 
if that one larger supply is powered all the time, would it use more 
electricity?

ps: FOr more on IT and energy use, see:

* The 'Inefficient Truth' released 3rd December 2007 in the UK on IT 
emissions 
<http://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/event_detail.aspx?eid=ef0cecc6-2621-4a3c-962c-e4758b8952f8>.

* Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program: This is a six hundred 
page electronic textbook and 30 hours of course notes intended for 
engineers and IT professionals, sponsored by CSIRO 
<http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/Sustainable_Energy_Solutions_Portfolio.aspx>.



Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd            ABN: 17 088 714 309
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617                      http://www.tomw.net.au/
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, ANU