FYIJSYK: ZERO Charger…

You’ve got your phone plugged in for the night after a long day of yapping on the phone. The next morning, you hop out of bed, grab your phone, and head to your job at Uncle Ted’s Used Bubble Gum Emporium. You may think that after unplugging your phone, no more electricity is being used, after all, your phone isn’t plugged in.

Unfortunately, that isn’t true. That plug that charges your phone is actually a bit more complex than you may think it is. It changes alternating current (like the electricity in nearly all outlets) to direct current (like all batteries). Part of that conversion process produces heat. This heat is a sign that not all the energy is being put toward its intended purpose. In the end you are left with an electric bill that is higher than it should be.

And it’s not just your phone charger either. TVs, stereos, and computers are other examples of electronics that use electricity when they are off or on standby.

Enter the AT&T ZERO charger. When nothing is plugged into it, it uses no electricity. The savings of that electricity could be huge, especially if this technology moves into other appliances and gadgets. According to the AT&T ZERO website, the US uses (wastes!?) about 12% of its annual energy usage on these so called ‘vampiric’ chargers. Cutting all that energy usage could result in an annual savings of $120 billion.

Another reason this charger is terrific is that it has a USB socket on it, allowing you to plug in your iPod, cell phone, digital camera, or any other device that charges using USB.

At this point I’m tempted to pick up a handful of these. Anyone interested in a contest that gives away some ZERO chargers? Do you plan on picking one up yourself?