Well, there's good news for environmentally conscious movie and music buffs (or those who just want to save a few bucks)!  First, electronic equipment manufacturers are designing their products to reduce energy consumption and manufacturing them with earth-friendlier materials.  A number of products that are available today, including flat panel displays, AV Receivers and DVD players, etc., are ENERGY STAR qualified.  The average home has two TVs, three telephones, and a DVD player. If these items were replaced with ENERGY STAR qualified models, it would save over 25 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to that of more than 2 million cars.[1]  And the pro models you can buy from custom installers often have longer life expectancies so they don't have to be disposed as frequently.  When they finally do wear out, electronic components can be recycled for glass, plastics, and metals for use in new equipment manufacturing.

Wanna be even greener?  You can achieve additional savings on your energy bill by managing the power consumption of your in-home systems.  Audio/video equipment can be plugged into "intelligent" power management systems that allow you to cut the power to certain devices when not in use (like TVs and audio components) while leaving others on all the time (like your TiVo, DVR or satellite receiver).   Installing dimmers on your interior lights will instantly reduce energy consumption by 15% and extends the life of incandescent light bulbs by 2-3 times, even when used at full brightness.  So there's less going into the land fill.[2]  And with a lighting control system you'll be able to monitor and control lights all over the house from one location.

If you really want to "dial in" on your energy consumption, you can purchase a home automation system that gives you a dash board for monitoring energy use, sets the schedules for thermostat, lighting and irrigation, raises and lowers window shades to conserve heating and cooling energy and even gives you the ability to remotely control your systems when you're away from home.

Want help?  Call us to schedule a consultation about how to make your home electronics greener from "cradle to grave."  Whether you're into green or not, you'll save energy costs and enjoy the latest and greatest technology in home entertainment, comfort and security!

[1] Source: ENERGY STAR

[2] Source: Lutron Electronics, Inc.