Plug Loads Control

Plug loads is the energy used by products that are powered by means of an ordinary AC plug. If not for local law 84 or benchmarking, I would never consider it important and until recently, no one really took notice of plug loads. Even some energy managers call it as parasitic load, phantom loads and even a vampire load. However, that is changing. As buildings become more energy efficient, the significant impact of plug loads becomes more apparent. In high efficiency buildings, plug loads may account for more than 50% of the total energy consumption. Is your VHS, CD, DVD, Blue ray player, fax machine plugged into an outlet? Guess what? They consume electricity and when are not in use are indeed plug loads. How about, gaming system, computers, monitors, printers, scanners, charging systems, radios, TVs, which were not turn on for years (kitchen, guest rooms etc…) and other? You may want to unplug them all or purchase a smart power strip and some of them are controlled by your smart phone.