Vampire Power sometimes called ‘Phantom Load’, or ‘Standby Power’, however much less dramatic, is the creepy little name that describes what is happening when appliances remain plugged in when they aren’t in use.  When they remain plugged in, small amounts of electricity are being sucked up by the device so it can turn on with one click of the remote.  Those small amounts of electricity add up over time and can affect your wallet and your drain on the grid.  **Please note that garlic, and stakes are not the solution to this vampire problem, and could in fact cost you substantially more in the long run than purchasing a power strip.

Utilizing a power strip or unplugging the culprit at the source of its evil is something quick, easy, and can save you a small bundle over the course of a year.  Just to make this perfectly clear how this could affect you where it counts, I will give you an example from my home.  Here are the figures for my television – basic, older 19″ screen television:

When our television is on it uses 70 watts, when it is off it uses 40.  Let’s say the television is on an average of 4 hours a day.  If we were to unplug the TV for the other 20 hours a day when not in use, we would save 292 kilowatt hours during the course of the year that adds up to about $35 if kilowatt hours are .12 in your part of the woods.  Not bad for just one appliance right?  Most homes have 2 or so televisions so that’s about $70 in savings a year.  That’s just the televisions; think about the DVD player, laptops, coffeemakers, phone chargers, which typically range from 3-7 watts depending on types and models.  They won’t rack up the bucks as quickly as the televisions but combined can add some more padding to that money clip of yours.

Here are a few mower energy zaps from your entertainment shrine to show you would you could pocket in a years time.  This is just an approximation and assumes the following off times.   For the Wii the power off time is 23 hours, the DVD off time is 23 hours, and the television off time is 20 yours.
Annual Savings
Imagine how it would be if the whole block participated in pulling the plug on these power suckers.  You could host a fabulous block party at the end of the year with all those savings!  Not to mention the impact on the environment.

We have yet to talk about the major energy sucker, the office.  Offices could be saving a substantial amount by powering down the computers, printers, etc at least enough for a nice company bbq.  I bet you will get some attention from the cute accountant after you bring this up at the staff meeting!

If it’s time to purchase appliances please check out Energy Star’s website to research what new products are out there to save money on utility bills and keep the blood sucking vampires at bay.  Muahhhhh…