According to Alan Meier, a senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a leading expert on energy efficiency, “We have entered this new era where essentially everything is on all the time.”

‘The biggest offender is the flat-screen television. As liquid crystal displays and plasma technologies replace the old cathode ray tubes, and as screen sizes increase, the new televisions need more power than older models do.’

‘Another power drain is the video game console. Energy experts — and many frustrated parents — say that since saving games is difficult, children often keep the consoles switched on so they can pick up where they left off.’

All these result in a tremendous demand for electricity due to power-hungry gadgets and appliances. In the US alone, every household now has about 25 consumer electronic products as compared with just three in 1980. Globally, ‘consumer electronics now represent 15 percent of household power.’

While user behavior is a huge part of the problem, ‘many modern gadgets cannot entirely be turned off even when not in use’ as well. ‘They draw electricity while they await a signal from a remote control or wait to record a television program.’

Thus, most energy experts have come to realize that the solution lies in ‘mandatory efficiency rules specifying how much power devices may use.’ It seems that there is always the need for legislation to discipline citizens and industries that are ultimately run by people themselves.

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Via The New York Times