How To Study Smart

Smart grid: a crossroads of loads

For a possible lesson in customer engagement—and a case for proactive approaches by utilities—I refer you to yesterday's article, " New study shows cable set-top boxes are electricity vampires, " by Matthew Lynley, at GreenBeat.

(That study is " Better Viewing, Lower Energy Bills, and Less Pollution: Improving the Efficiency of Television Set-Top Boxes ," from the Natural Resources Defense Council.)

The point of the article cited above is that set-top boxes quietly suck significant amounts of electricity while remaining fully powered 24/7, in part to respond quickly when cable providers send software updates and/or when the owner flicks a switch and wants to be instantly entertained. Like most appliances, however, smarter, more efficient technologies are available. And, in fact, Energy Star 4.0 may well demand stricter efficiency standards, according to the study.

This is nothing new, just another example of the phantom load issue, in which modern electronics suck juice whether they're in use or not. But the set-top box issue struck me because it seems likely there will be endless technology creep inside the home and if no one is paying attention, it'll add up as rates rise, bills increase and, finally, the torches and sickles come out.

To me, this case illustrates the benefit of customer engagement and awareness around electricity issues in general. If a residential customer truly grasped how electricity is generated, transmitted, distributed and—most important to them—consumed, utilities might find that instead of meter pushback they'd have legions of allies. And vendors can be jumping on energy efficient semiconductors and after-market strategies such as the devices one can place between load and socket to help consumers understand what appliances are costing them the most to run.

Utilities, of course, already are involved with major appliance manufacturers, so this is not a categorical blind spot, just a somewhat unforeseen example. And the amounts of electricity wasted may not matter to individual consumers. The collective waste should, however, be of concern to utilities.

According to the NRDC study, DVR set-top boxes consume nearly 500 kilowatt-hours per year, which is only about 4 percent of an average U.S. resident's annual electricity consumption. In aggregate, however, the current inventory of about 160 million of these devices ate up about 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, or the equivalent of the output of nine 500 megawatt power plants. (That's 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.) The national, aggregate cost to run the devices is about $3 billion. Because two-thirds of that is wasted, the unnecessary cost is about $2 billion.

How To Study Smart in College – minor subjects, career choices

College is a crucial time for building your future. The grades in your transcript can spell the difference to a study grant to pursue your masters or a complete snubbing of all of your other credentials. That is why studying well while in college can greatly boost your career choices when you graduate. This also means that you will need to know when and how to study hard, as opposed to just slaving over all of your books. You have to face it – there simply is not enough time for you to read all your notes and memorize all the terms. At some point, you will need to strategize on how to make the most of out your time, which is a skill that you will also need once you graduate. This article is the first step in helping you effectively study without consuming all of your free time in college.

What you will need: complete set of studying materials, notepad, pen, paper, highlighter and snacks. You must have a place where you won’t get distracted and music (optional). What distracts you and how to stay away from it. You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself the question of what distracts you the most. Is it the presence of your significant other? Is it the loud music coming from your dorm neighbor? Is it the internet? Know what your weakest points are and then find a way to stay away from that at least during the time that you need to study. This oftentimes means staying away from the TV, your friends and other gadgets that can distract you. Some people prefer to study with their music turned on, however, so decide what suits you best. Prioritize your subjects and topics. When you have all of your studying materials ready and you have picked out your study place, assess the subjects that you need to study and then prioritize them. Naturally, you should put more time into your majors and those that you know you need to focus on. Set aside your minor subjects for the last few hours per week since you can downgrade them in favor of the heavier ones. Make a study plan and sticking to it. When you have scoped what you need to study, make a study plan that you know you can stick to. There is no point in impressing yourself with an 8 hour weekend study plan when you know it is not realistic. Set aside a few hours a day to start reviewing on the tougher subjects as early as 4 weeks before an exam. Establish mini-milestones and celebrate the big ones.

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