Luggage for family holiday holiday travel includes 3 cell phones, 3 MP3 players, 2 Gameboys, 2 digital cameras, 1 Portable DVD player, 1 video camcorder, and a laptop … each with its own unique AC/DC power adapter.

In the U.S. there are more than 1.5 Billion of these wall-warts in use, with a Billion new ones shipped every year. The U.S. EPA estimates 11% of all electricity used passes through adapters, and 30-50% of power is lost in conversion. The worst is that wall-warts are vampire load, sucking electricity even when there is no device attached to be charged. The EPA has developed regulations governing both efficiency and stand-by mode, but as portable electronic devices proliferate that’s only going to slow the rate of energy consumption growth.

For enterprises, the rapid spread of portable network end-points, small printers, and other “personal” devices means an increasing amount of totally unseen and unmanaged energy consumption, as well as a growing stream of e-waste and universal waste.