The Wattage of Life

As heard on the "Cities" episode of the WNYC Radiolab podcast at about the 38-minute mark, the estimated daily wattage of the following people:

• Someone just lying in bed all day: 90 watts
• A hunter-gatherer in a New Zealand tribe: 240 watts
• A typical American who commutes and uses common household appliances, including a computer: 11,000 watts! That's more daily energy than a blue whale requires.

Eighty percent of Americans live in cities, and cities are just growing and growing like insatiable monsters.

But, because cities are such dense producers and markets of science and innovation, if anyone will solve humanity's energy problems, it will probably be a city-dweller.

Sonamu PC

The Sonamu PC is a system comprising a computer case, power supply, and power module that automatically shuts off power to peripherals when they're not in use rather than let them remain on standby power.



From the video and comments, I believe the only vital component of the power-saving system is the power module that fits next to the power supply of the PC. It seems that you do not have to use Sonamu's case or power supply.

If you're building a PC and want an easy power-saving option, this is something to consider.