Unplug everything

Okay friends, I have been assigned the task of cutting my electricity consumption in my daily life by half.

Before I start I will give you context: I live in a residential apartment outside Milan with my family. There are four of us.

This is actually also the first big problem I encountered while trying to think of what I could do to fulfil this mission: being four people in the same house means that I cannot accurately determine the distribution of consumption per person.
I decided to bypass the problem (for now), dealing with that part of the house frequented only by me and where I spend 90% of my home life: my bedroom

Mapping out all the electrical devices in my room, I realized they are always constantly plugged into the socket (even when turned off or on standby). Then doing a brief search on the Internet, I discovered that virtually all electrical devices, if kept plugged in, continue to consume power even when turned off.

So I took action, categorizing the appliances according to frequency of use. The idea is to introduce a new, more responsible and less passive management of the devices under my “jurisdiction.”

Devices that I use very little (once a month on average).
-stationary computer, off: 2–6 W
-stereo system, always on standby: 1 W.
-printer, always on standby: 3–4 W

What I can do: unplug them from the power socket. I only plug them in when I need them.

Appliances I use frequently. Now I confess to you that I have a bad habit in this regard: if I am at home, I often forget them attached to the power supply, and so they are constantly kept on 100% charge
-phone (if charging): 3 and 7 W
-laptop computer (if charging): 20 W

What I can do: I am careful to monitor the charge. When at 100% I unplug them. And I avoid keeping my cell phone on charge at night.

Devices always on:
-Wi-Fi router: 8–10 W
-NAS: 15–20 W

What I can do: I unplug them if I know that no one will stay in the house.

By applying these tricks, I have reduced my energy impact in my room in no small way. The next step is to go out and explore the house in its entirety, analyzing it 360 degrees.

See you at the next publication