Energy Vampires: Are You Keeping Them From Overpowering Your Home?

If you leave electronic devices plugged in when you’re not using them, you’re subjecting your home to power-draining energy vampires. If you want to save more energy, here’s what you need to know to keep from wasting energy.

What are energy vampires, and what do they have to do with standby power?

Any device that continues to use power when plugged into the wall, even when turned off, is considered an energy vampire. The energy they consume is called standby power, which can be useful for lighting clock displays or controlling timers. However, other items are wasteful for no productive reason at all.

Devices that consume standby power include:

• Battery chargers for wireless devices
• Gaming consoles
• Stereo systems and speakers
• DVD players and DVRs
• Televisions
• Computers, monitors, printers, scanners and fax machines
• Internet modems and routers

Should I be worried about energy vampires?

While they aren’t exactly frightening like blood-sucking vampires from scary stories, yes, you should worry if your goal is to create an energy-efficient home. The average American household wastes about $100 per year powering items not in use. The waste is substantial when you consider that 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity is wasted per year across the U.S. because of standby power.

How can I keep these power suckers from overpowering my home?

• Choose Energy Star-qualified equipment that consumes less power in standby mode. This is especially beneficial for devices such as DVRs that you want to keep plugged in for their timer feature or clock display.
• Use a surge protector as a central “turn off” point. Plug all your computer equipment and home theater devices into surge protectors. Then you can conveniently turn everything off all at once just by flipping the switch. Be sure to leave devices with useful clocks or timers plugged into a regular outlet.
• Unplug your chargers. This is the easiest way to prevent energy loss through standby power.

For more info on controlling energy vampires, please contact Sobieski Services today. We happily serve customers throughout the Wilmington area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wilmington, Delaware and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Image Credit: *¦·sindorella·¦*

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