Power Strip

Excited about arriving to your dorm room for the first time? Full of excitement and with all of your electronic equipment, your anxious to start setting up your room and getting everything plugged in. Electronic equipment that requires a power cable for power is a ubiquitous issue in college dorm rooms. Did you know that if a single monitor that draws about 100 watts is left on unnecessarily overnight and on the weekends could add 30 dollars or more to the annual energy bill? If thats one student drawing that much power and raising the bill that high, imagine what 100 students would produce, or 1,000, or 100,000.

 

So if one monitor draws about 100 watts, and it is is left on unnecessarily overnight and on the weekends it is estimated that that one monitor would draw 2,900 watts. In my dorm room I have a microwave, refrigerator, speakers, television, lamp, printer, and an xbox. Unfortunately, not only have yet to unplug my monitor, I honestly have to say that I have yet to unplug any of the other items since the beginning of the school year. I think to myself, if one average size monitor draws about 100 watts, I cant imagine how much energy the 42 inch monitor in my room sucks up. In fact, I traveled with my lacrosse team for our away game this past weekend and when I got back on sunday my monitor was still on. Not only was the monitor still on, but my speakers and lamp also. As a solution, I believe if I setup my wires in one power strip, in a convenient location, I will be able to unplug the strip which would turn everything off and essentially saving.

 

I want to change this behavior because I own so much electronic equipment that I believe if I make a difference it will make a big impact. I do anticipate challenges in changing this behavior because I need to develop this new habit. Firstly, I am going to need construct this new set up and I am going to need to consciously remember each time I leave the room to just pull out the power strip. I look forward to hopefully developing this habit and not only will it be having a beneficial impact personally, but hopefully to the lafayette community.