As Americans strive to cut back on costs at home and work, many are unplugging appliances, turning off the computer at the end of the day, or trading in the 50 inch flat screen for a more reasonably sized television. Good news for us all, a new study released by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) says America can save energy by just buying smarter.

According to the report, Semiconductor Technology: The Potential to Revolutionize U.S. Energy Productivity, electronics built with semiconductors are proving energy efficient. Well known for powering cell phones, global positioning devices, and display screens, semiconductors have been used to pack a lot of power into a tiny device transforming the electronics industry into millions of products with sleek and slim designs.

And now, these tiny powerhouses are helping to conserve energy and reduce the overall power load of electronics. The study shows that because semiconductors are saving energy, "the entire family of semiconductor-enabled technologies generated a net savings of about 775 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in the year 2006 alone" (when compared to those technologies available in 1976.

To put this into perspective, those savings prevent the need for more than 100 coal powered plants. In contrast, the International Energy Agency announced yesterday their work has found that cell phones, iPods, computers, and other electronics are negating the energy efficiency of other household and office electricity conserving devices.

Apparently, these devices are not made using semiconductors. Both ACEEE and the International Energy Agency are promoting the same consumer practice: buy smarter to conserve energy, whether it is by using a gadget with semiconductors or not.

Saving energy halts air pollution, continued climate change contributions, heavy energy consumption from coal or fossil fuel sources and moves America into a more sustainable future.