09.15.2008 — Do your clients know how much it costs to power their consumer electronics?

More importantly, should you tell them?

For many years, integrators have reported that energy savings has never been a strong motivator for their clients. If a product happened to have the added benefit of reducing the homeowner's energy usage, it was a bonus.

I believe the collective mindset of consumers is changing, and that energy reduction can and should be part of your sales pitch today. And the only way you are going to be successful in that endeavor is by educating your clients about how much it costs to run electronic components in the home.

How much does it really cost to run electronics in the home?

California Energy Commission chairman Jackie Pfannenstiel says that, previously, a small portion (less than 5 percent) of homeowners' power usage was attributed to a nebulously named category, "Other," which primarily represented home electronics.

Today, home electronics represent 19.2 percent of total power usage in the home. In a category now defined as "Small Appliances" by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), this includes everything from big-screen TVs to stereo systems to clock radios to cell phone chargers,

Since the average single-family homeowner spends a total of $1,600 per year ($133/month) on electricity, it means $307 per year, per home ($26/month) is spent to run consumer electronics.

Total U.S. energy bills are expected to increase 33 percent over the next 10 years. That jumps the average household bill to a total of $177 per month, including $35 per month for electronics (assuming power consumption levels of consumer electronics stay at the same level).

Here are some other energy usage tidbits:

• Lighting gobbles up 11.7 percent of a typical home's electrical bill.
• Another 11 percent of a home's electrical cost is attributable to the HVAC system.
• A flat-screen TV uses 120 watts of power when it's on. It also draws 40 watts when it is off. To put it in perspective for the homeowner, it's like having a 40-watt light bulb on 24 hours a day.
• Certain shade control systems can draw up to 200 watts of continuous power -- all day, even when they are not in use.
• A DVD player uses up to 25 watts of continuous power.
  
• An audio system can draw up to 400 watts of power when in use.

I still haven't explained why you should be telling your clients this information. You should tell them so you can sell them more control equipment that will mitigate these electrical usage costs.

It sounds contrary, but there hasn't been a better sales opportunity in years for dealers.

High energy costs open an entire return-on-investment conversation with a homeowner that previously was a difficult discussion. When you can tangibly show them that a lighting, HVAC or whole-house control system will pay for itself over time, it's a winner.

I recently had several integrators tell me that the custom electronics industry was "anti-green." After all, an industry that makes its living installing giant power-zapping televisions and components cannot actually be environmentally friendly. I disagree.

What do you think?