With Halloween around the corner, the streets will be crawling with vampires, but you don’t need to step outside to find them; they’re lurking in your home, sucking energy and money.
Electronic appliances consume power even when they are switched off or in standby mode but still plugged in, creating vampire energy and costing consumers hundreds of dollars each year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, idle gadgets suck up $10 billion in energy annually, and account for approximately 5 percent of the energy usage in an average home. That works out to an extra $165 in annual energy costs per household, according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.
Common energy vampires include:
- Desktop computers
- TVs
- DVD players and DVRs
- Cell phone chargers (and any other battery chargers)
- Video game consoles
- Clock radios
- Computers and printers
- Coffeemakers
- Power strips
- Microwave ovens
- Any device with a remote control
- Any device with a clock
- Programmable devices
- Devices with a power light or standby indicator light
To ward off these energy vampires, use energy-saving modes, plug cords into power strips that can be turned off, and when possible, unplug appliances when not in use.
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