>>KATHY COSCO: Your appliances are rated energy star. You've replaced all your light bulbs with
compact fluorescents or LEDS and you turn them off when you leave the
room.
congratulations, you're doing your part to conserve.
But the truth is, you're probably still wasting electricity.
The DEP's Sarah Alford joins us now and Sarah, these are things that waste energy even
when they're turned off.
>>SARAH ALFORD: That's right Kathy, They're called vampires,
but don't worry.
You don't need garlic, silver bullets
or sharpened stake to get rid of them.
You'll find them in every room in your house.
The problem is called phantom load -- electronic devices that continue to use
small amounts of power even when they're turned off.
The average home has about twenty five of these little bloodsuckers.
Probably the most common offender
is this: your cell phone charger.
You unplug your phone when you leave your house every day
but as long as your charger is still plugged into the wall it's still drawing
power even though your phone is not charging --
but that's not the biggest vampire in your house.
Computers and all the various devices like printers and routers and external
hard drives will consume power even when they're in standby.
Cable boxes, TVs and sound systems are another source.
Basically any device that has a clock or remote control is drawing a small amount
of power all the time.
The easiest way to reduce vampire power loss is to use a power strip and turn
it off when you're not using it.
If you are forgetful
or your power strip isn't in and easily accessible place you can connect is
simple electronic timer to, for example, turn your phone chargers on in the
evening when you usually need to charge them
and turn the off again in the morning after you leave for work.
Some devices allow you to adjust the amount of standby power they consume.
This Nintendo Wii, for example, can go for eighteen to eight
to just one watt of standby power just by changing the settings.
You can't get rid of every source of vampire power in your house but
cutting the things you can can add up to a noticeable savings on your
electric bill.
Experts say the bottom line, when hunting vampires, just use common sense.
Don't bother cutting the power to things that require a lot of reprogramming. In
Charleston, I'm Sarah Alford for Environment Matters.
>>KATHY COSCO: Thanks Sarah.
It's estimated that between five and twenty five percent of your total
electrical use is
from this phantom load.
Energy efficiency is just one of the dozens of topics on the agenda at this
year's building conference and expo in Morgantown.
The conference is set for January 31st through February second
at the Waterfront Place in Morgantown.
The conference features workshops and seminars along with nationally
recognized experts in the field of sustainable building.
>>SARAH HALSTEAD: That's the biggest takeaway for this conference...
Anyone who actually cares about the performance of their building
can come in and connect with people who are no nonsense, simple, practical and have
street cred --
making things happen and making things better.
>>KATHY COSCO: WE've added a link to the conference on our website
dep.wv.gov
Just look for it in the spotlight section at the bottom of the page.
THey're this year's best and brightest when it comes to their efforts
to clean up and beautify their respective communities.
The DEP's Make it Shine program recently handed out its 2012 Clean
Community Awards
to New Cumberland in Hancock County, Camden on Gauley in Webster County,
Odd in Raleigh County and the village of Beech Bottom in Brooke County.
If that last name sounds familiar, it's because Beech Bottom is a repeat winner
from last year
and also this year's grand prize winner.
the village will receive a check for five hundred dollars
to be applied toward additional cleanup and beautification projects.
This is Beech Bottoms fourth consecutive clean community award.
Clean Community Awards are judged on several categories including
recycling and youth participation but that wasn't the only big winner:
>>DANNY HAUGHT: We have 55 counties in
West Virginia
and this is not an award
that we take lightly. We sit down and discuss 79 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:32,839 areas and we look at one main factor and that's effort
and without a doubt, this award goes to
them because of the
effort they put in...
>>KATHY COSCO: THe Make it Shine program also honored the Putnam County Solid Waste Authority
with a Clean County Award.
Putnam County was recognized for its outstanding efforts at promoting
environmental stewardship
through its education, law enforcement and clean up efforts. >>CHARITY FELLURE: We're very honored to get the
award but it was definitely a surprise.
>>KATHY COSCO: In addition to the award
the Putnam County Solid Waste Authority received a two thousand dollar check to help with
future cleanups and other projects.
Finally,
if you're looking for a place to dispose of your live christmas tree after the
holidays are over, you can drop it off at the capital market in charleston
saturday january fifth.
The DEP, along with the west virginia division natural resources are teaming
up
to recycle your tree.
But if you think it's headed to the wood chipper,
you'd be wrong.
The DNR actually uses the trees to create fish habitat in lakes all
across west virginia. So instead
of finding presents under the tree
this summer, you might just find a large mouth
bass. We leave you now along the Kanawha River near Bancroft
as the early morning fog lifts.
On behalf of all of us here at the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection,
thanks for watching.
We'll see you next time.