Ghostbusters! Saving Electricity by Fighting Vampire Power
January 27th, 2012 by 
These days we are surrounded by gadgets that require an increasing supply of electricity. Therefore finding ways to charge them with as little energy as possible and avoiding energy waste are steps we can take decrease our energy consumption and carbon emissions.
A new range of products designed to eliminate “wasteful stand-by consumption, also known as vampire power”, promises to do just that. They are produced by Bracketron and feature what the company calls GreenZero Technology. Their eco selling point is that they don’t consume energy when left plugged into power outlets, like most chargers do.
The GreenZero chargers detect when the device is fully charged or unplugged, and then automatically shut off. The chargers then consume zero idle power to save energy, while also lengthening the life of the device battery by limiting top-off charging time.
Bracketron’s GreenZero product lineup includes the Mushroom GreenZero and Stone GreenZero wall chargers for mobile devices, and the Stone Battery, a mini portable power supply that is available for both iPhone and microUSB-connected mobile devices.
The GreenZero chargers and battery were unveiled at the International CES 2012 in Las Vegas on January 12 and 13. The line will be available at retailers across the U.S. in March 2012.
Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.
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Tags:  Bracketron carbon emissions chargers energy consumption GreenZero Technology | [ Permalink ] |
Pretty impressive for a so simple device I must say!
That’s a good point, this should have more attention of developers in order to assess the power consumption when those kind of devices are in stand-by mode.
Lots of people don’t know that cell phone/laptop chargers, tvs and computers keeps consuming electricity just by the fact that they are plugged into the grid utility and this can represent a good amount on a montly electric bill.
If you disconnect all your devices and appliances from the grid when not using them, you can be sure to save some bucks montly.
Definitely going to look into buying one of these, as I usually never unplugs my chargers from the wall.
Cheers!
Alfred,
Step Down Transformer
What a great post for using less electricity. Not only can all of us lower our electricity to save money but it reduces our carbon footprint, too. Thanks! -
That’s so great. I will try to get one for myself soon. Its a great way to save electricity and reduce energy consumption thereby reducing electricity bill.