Did you know…
Americans are spending $19 billion a year in electricity costs from vampire appliances and electronics. That’s $165 per household, on average.
Vampire appliances and electronics account for 4-5% of the electricity use in a home.
Home by home, day by day, it’s adding up.
Vampire Appliances: Electronics or appliances that draw power even when they are “off”.
The top energy suckers:
- Computers
- TVs
- Cable or Satellite TV boxes
- Appliances with a clock (fancy coffee maker, dvd player, microwave, etc.)
- Video game consoles
Your Action Item
Get in the habit of unplugging your cell phone charger, computer charger, and other electronics/appliances when you’re not using them.
Unplug or use a power strip with an on/off switch. (you have to flip the switch for this to be effective)
Shut your computer down at night.
Garlic:
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Resources:
Slay the energy vampires in your home
This quick guide digs a bit deeper and even provides a calculator for you to see how much you can save by unplugging.
Learn more about devices that draw on the grid and really get deep by reviewing their study on home idle load.
This short article from Treehugger, sprinkled with shocking facts, is a nice overview of the vampire power dilemma in case you need a bit more inspiration to get up and unplug.