Every new replacement gadget we are forced to buy seems to have brighter LEDs than the last, and most no longer have any discoverable way to turn the lights off.
Who needs nightlights when you have gadgets?
Unhappily, the nights are drawing in rapidly, and walking around the house last night I noted the following unnecessary lights on gadgets that run off mains electricity:
Craft Room: boiler controller, smoke detector
Our Bedroom/ensuite: smoke detector, TV, HD recorder, my laptop, my old laptop, Mr BW’s laptop, wifi extender (that new last week gadget has lights bright enough to see to read a book)
Atrium: broadband router (when this was installed I asked how to turn off the 5 bright green lights and was told to use a piece of gaffer tape), smoke detector
Cloakroom: nothing
Utility: nothing
Kitchen: Plug in USB sockets (while we have USB sockets built into most of our plug sockets, this outlet needs a triple socket and we couldn’t find one with USB chargers built in)
Library (this was the lounge but we don’t ever sit in there, so it’s now the library as about half our books are in there): new printer, HD recorder
Conservatory: nothing, which is just as well as any light would likely be visible for tens of miles
Upstairs Landing: wifi extender built into plug socket, smoke detector, smoke detector
Guest Bedroom/ensuite: extension plug board (as can’t currently get to the wall socket), electric shower pull-cord (should have been turned off at the distribution board)
Office: extension plug board (all other gadgets including the old printer have ways to turn off their lights)
Main Bathroom: nothing
Sewing Room: plug extension board (this should have been off; at the wall; it usually is)
Store Rooms: 4 on various security devices
And I didn’t dare go in Mr BW’s Workshop as it might have been like that festive time of year that will appear in the shops anytime soon – I have already had 3 emails about it, and promptly unsubscribed from the sending companies. But, smoke detector, freezer, Mi1dred’s battery trickle charger, other battery chargers (not all in use, I know, I know, I have repeatedly told him, it’s a safety hazard as well as a waste of energy/money…), other things that I have no idea what they are let alone what they do, so let’s say 5 altogether.
There are also a couple of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in various places that flash brightly occasionally, but they don’t run off mains electricity.
We don’t use an in-house smart meter monitor for electricity usage as we turn off things we don’t need on (and don’t leave things on standby), and, when it was new 4 years ago, I worked out that, if plugged in, it used £11 worth of electricity per year. More recent ones are only allowed to consume 0.6W per hour, but that is still over £2 per year.
Altogether, we have somewhere around 30 unwanted LED lights on gadgets.
If the lights on each gadget uses £2 of electricity per year (and some undoubtedly use much more, some less), that is around £60 of wasted electricity per year, and sixty bright one pound coins down the drain.
Multiply this up by every household, every office, every factory, every shop in the country, and that is millions and millions of pounds worth of wasted energy and wasted money per year.
How many LEDs glow in your house in the dark?
Do you find them unnecessary and annoying?
Debster
I can walk around the house in the dark with all the lights on things
Blue Witch
That’s exactly what made me do a count up Debster.
Caroline Greenwell
It’s too depressing to walk around and count, but the answer is definitely “too many”. The costs you calculated are astounding.
delcatto
Far too many and I dread to think how many in my son’s room.
I do have a nice glow in the dark kitchen clock.
Caroline Greenwell
I’ve been pondering your observations. I’m more concerned about brighter lights. The 6 lights dotted down next door’s driveway, their lights on their two storey stairwell which are blindingly bright, their two security lights on their garage and one by the front door. On my block of flats there’s the 2 security lights one on each of the 2 garages, internal 24/7 lighting in the garages (could have windows but they’ve opted for wooden shutters). internal 24/7 lighting down our corridors (no natural light). Plus other security lights on other nearby properties and the street lights.
No dark skies round here.
Gordon
I shudder to think! I do know I have been liberal with duct tape but even then it ‘bleeds’ out somewhere and there is always some glow or another.
Lyle
Most of my stuff doesn’t have LEDs, weirdly.
However, even if I did, they’d be outweighed by the streetlight that’s outside my house. (Also the two gravel quarries around here operate 24-hours , so it’s probably the antithesis of where you live – it’s never dark here!)
Blue Witch
Caroline – towns and cities are huge light polluters. A lot of energy could be saved by public education. It always amuses me that people say, “But I need these lights for security!” Lights actually make it easier for criminals to commit crimes after dark.
Blue Witch
Lyle – hello stranger! I have been concerned about you as you haven’t been around or posted.
We too have 2 whinstone quarries down in the valley, one of which works round the clock and used to have lights you could read a book by here, several miles away. Needless to say, that problem has now been solved by us BWs 🙂 And last night, on our way back from a trip to the NW coast, we found what I believe to be the source of the only other bright light in the otherwise dark sky (actually, the only other light at all), a floodlight on a barn about 10 miles away, on the other side of the valley. I doubt they are aware of how far away it is visible, so I shall be tactfully enlightening them asap.
Blue Witch
Gordon – As I said to the broadband installer, I worry about duct tape over lights. What if it overheats and causes a fire? But, it does seem to be the only option as most newer gadgets seem to have lights that can’t be switched off now.
Lyle
As well as duct-tape, you can also get “LED Blocking” stickers that’ll reduce the light output by 50-80%.
They don’t say how fireproof they are, but one assumes that a smaller sticker is going to cause fewer heat-related issues anyway.
Lyle
Personally, I’d like to see towns and cities have night-time lighting wardens (similar to traffic wardens) who log which offices/commercial buildings have lights left on overnight.
The first time, a warning gets issued – for each floor of the building. After that, each subsequent offence incurs a penalty fine. (Possibly escalating with repeated infractions?)
I’m sure that companies would soon start enforcing a “dark office” policy if it began to hit them in the corporate pockets.
(Yes, there are some places that work overnight or whatever, but they can make some effort and register that fact for an exemption)
Blue Witch
Totally agree Lyle.
I will admit that I read ‘escalating’ as ‘executing’…
All commercial buildings should, in this day and age, all have lighting on movement sensors. A good start would be to have all toilets with lights on sensors.
But, it’s easier to berate private individuals for eg not recycling enough than to do something about the really huge wastes of resources like this.