Reducing Standby PowerIntroductionReducing standby power is something that can help reduce energy demand. Humans can easily help reduce standby energy by doing very simple things. If energy demand is reduced, it is better for the economy and the environment. The economy benefits because as demand for energy decreases, less money needs to be spent on building new power plants to produce more energy. The environment benefits because with fewer power plants, there are fewer emissions into the atmosphere and the threat of global climate change decreases. What is standby power? Standby energy is electricity used by appliances or other devices while they are not in use. This is because the energy is consumed by a power supply that converts alternating current into direct current. This is done through the use of black cubes which are sometimes called vampires. AC is short for alternating current and DC is short for direct current. The difference between the two is that alternating current is pulsed electricity that changes polarity every fifty to sixty seconds and direct current has a constant polarity. Unused energy is converted into direct current because the device continues to draw electricity even when not in use. Batteries are a good example of this because, when inserted into a remote control, they constantly emit energy even if they are not being used. There are several categories of standby power. The first is called unloaded. No load means that no power is supplied to the rest of the appliances. Products that are examples of no load are an external power supply which is a DC/AC power supply. The next type of standby power is passive standby. Passive standby means that the application... middle of paper... is able to help the environment and the economy, which is useful not only for them, but for everyone. Resources "Standby Power FAQ." Standby Power and Web. May 22, 2014. http://standby.lbl.gov/faq.html"AC to DC Converter = Diode Bridge." . Instructables and Web. May 22, 2014. .Chu, Giovanni. "3 simple tips to reduce standby energy loads." . Energy Saving, November 1, 2012. Web. May 22, 2014. .Añonuevo, Euan Paulo C. "CLIMATE CHANGE WARNING | Leaving your TV in standby mode harms the environment." . InterAksyon.com, 11 April 2014. Web. 22 May 2014.