Stemming the mobile-phone power drain

Part 2 in a series on the environmental implications of the mobile phone. Read Part 1 here

North America alone will import and use more than 2.5 billion chargers for handheld electronics over the next five years, according to the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. Most of these will end up in a landfill or a desk drawer, but not before generating nine billion kilograms of carbon – or five year’s worth of driving 1.8 million cars – in their lifetime. When it comes to charging the mobile phone, the numbers present a compelling case for updating power technology, but the industry is just beginning to explore its options.

According to EnergyStar, mobile phones are one of an average of eight external power adapters every person owns for a total of 20 per household. There are already as many as 2.4 billion chargers in use in the U.S. today. If all of these were to meet EnergyStar requirements, the savings in energy costs could grow to nearly $2 billion each year, not to mention preventing 20 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions that would normally result from wasted electricity on the power grid. Each household, on its own, could prevent more than 190 pounds, as well as save $15 per year on their energy bills.

Last November, all the major handset makers launched a common energy rating system for chargers so that consumers could choose the most energy-efficient versions. Many of the vendors also provide a charging-alarm function, intended to reduce and energy consumption and CO2 emissions. When the phone is completely charged, an alarm sounds and pop-up screen appears, letting the consumer know they are wasting energy if they leave the phone plugged in after. While the industry has taken the first steps to combat this vampire power – the power consumer electronics waste when plugged in but not in use – it remains a growing, rather than decreasing, problem as consumer electronics proliferate in the home.

UNIVERSALIZING THE CHARGER

One of the biggest steps the industry could take is to create a universal charger that works with any phone or small consumer electronics device. Not only could a customer charge a Motorola or Nokia phone on the same adapter, but when customers upgrade their phones, they wouldn’t have to upgrade their chargers, said Evan Haines, an ICF International consultant for EnergyStar’s electronics programs. EnergyStar compliance would be easier to implement in these devices, and millions, if not billions, of old chargers could be spared from the landfill.