We’re all familiar with this scene (surveillance photo taken at my house tonight): someone in the house takes his (or her) (but probably HIS!!) phone away, fully charged — and forgets/neglects to remove the plug from the wall!!!

Ommmmm, let’s all breathe together: WHY is this so important?

Quazillions of Practically Green users agree this is a worthy challenge — so many, in fact, that “Unplug cell phone chargers and other appliances when not in use” is the #6 most popular action on Practically Green action plans right now.

Here is Catherine Rust, the incomparable and indefatigable green-building entrepreneur behind BEC (Butterfly Effect Consulting) in Toronto, Canada. Cathy answers the questions, “Why does it matter?” and, “What can I do about it?”

Unplug your cell phone after it’s charged; an easy thing to think about, but sometimes harder to remember to do. And really, you might be asking yourself, “How much energy can a cell phone charger use anyway? One watt per hour? Two?” True. It doesn’t use a lot of power once the phone is charged, but it is still drawing power. So are the four other phones in your house — and so are your iTouches, digital cameras, iPods, MP3 players… In fact, there are somewhere between 25 and 40 of these devices in the average North American household, consuming between 10 and 15% of all the electricity in your home. So that little “power drain” might not be quite as small as you think.

Imagine saving money on your electric bill just by remembering to unplug your charger once your phone is fully charged? It’s a simple action that involves remembering to unplug the charger, or, as in most cases, multiple chargers.

But changing habits can be challenging, and since the best time to remember to unplug your charger is in the morning as you’re leaving the house, chances are good it’s not going to get done – at least not for every single charger in your home…..or is it? Here are a few tips to help you tackle the “unplug your cell phone charger” action.

  1. Have a central charging station for all household cellphones, Blackberries and iPods, etc. Use a power bar, and every morning turn the power bar off or unplug it as you’re leaving the house.
  2. If you’re not going to remember to unplug the power bar, buy a power bar with a built-in timer, and program it to power on at night and shut off during the day.

Following these actions could help you save a little money on your electricity bill, conserve energy, cut CO2 emissions and smog. Small action, big results.

Product suggestions: Please add yours!!

I found this awesome and very cool product by Belkin which is a ”charger valet” for USB chargers.  How cool is that? Available on Amazon. Also, Belkin sells power bars that turn off automatically after 11 hours so you don’t even have to think about it.

http://www.belkin.com/conserve/valet/

http://www.belkin.com/conserve/surge-with-timer/

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powerdock

Cathy and her family

About Cathy Rust: Cathy holds a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). She holds a B.Sc. in Biology (specialist, Human Genetics) from McGill University, and an M.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto. Before becoming a mom, she worked as an environmental consultant, in the 90s, “which was pretty much like talking to a brick wall.”  You can find her at http://becgreen.ca