After last week’s tip on switching to LED bulbs, it got me thinking how to best order the tips and suggestions for this section on energy efficiency.  I am basically going in order of easiest to hardest, with the easiest, most bang for the buck going first.

So what’s next?  Another easy thing: get a few plug-in timers that let you leave your devices such as phones and laptops plugged in, but only draw out power for a certain amount of time.  This Belkin Conserve Socket I bought from Amazon has three settings:  1/2 hour, 3 hours, and 6 hours.  You just plug something in, set the desired amount, and press the on button switch on the top.  It only draws power for as long as the setting, so you can leave it plugged in overnight and know that it will go off automatically.

According to my watt-meter (a handy gadget in which you can plug in any device or appliance and it tells you how many watts it uses), the amount of power that my laptop draws while it is charging is 30 watts; my phone draws 5 watts.  This can add up to some savings in electricity, but it may only be a few dollars per year — and the timer costs $9.99.

So where’s the financial payback?  Saving your batteries.  As an Apple Tech explained to me, you only want to charge your device up until it is fully charged.  After that, keeping it plugged in is like putting an extra buzz in it — and will decrease the life of the battery.  While I haven’t tested this (I’m not that much of a geek), the logic makes sense to me.  And I’d prefer to not have to replace my $99 laptop battery — for financial reasons as well as environmental — more than I would normally have to.

This timer can also be useful for children’s rooms.  We use it on our daughter’s bedside lamp.  The lamp goes off after a half hour, so she knows she has read for a half hour, and it serves as signal for her to go to bed.  I’m sure there are other creative uses for it as well.

This little gadget is easy, convenient, costs about $10, and has another benefit other than just saving electricity.  There’s a theme here: save electricity, but improve your life as well.