What is an energy vampire? An energy vampire is a device that continues to use energy and drain power, even when it is turned off. They lurk in your home, taking the form of phone chargers and cable boxes, computer cords and coffee pots. These phantom energy suckers can account for as much as 20% of your monthly electricity bill. What is the quickest way to slay an energy vampire? As simple as it sounds, all you need to do is identify the culprits and unplug them.
Two common examples of energy vampires are “bricks” and “wall warts”:
A wall wart is a device, such as a cellphone charger, that has a large plug. Left plugged in, it consumes energy even when it’s not being used.
A brick is a large black box that is often found on cords used with laptop computers, televisions, and some cable TV equipment. Left plugged in, these bricks use energy continuously.
Other examples of energy vampires include:
Cable/satellite boxes, digital TV converters, DVR, VCR, DVD players, mobile/cellular devices, MP3 players, video game consoles, devices that turn on instantly via remote control, and devices with a standby light or clock.
What better time to slay those vampires than Halloween? Here’s how:
- Unplug any appliance or electronic device whenever you’re not using it, unless there’s some reason to leave it plugged into the wall. It’s not practical, for example, to unplug your cable box and wireless router. But you can unplug your TV, stereo, laptop, countertop kitchen appliances and cell phone chargers when they’re not in use.
- Use power strips. Plug the devices that can be turned off into power strips so all you have to do is turn one thing off instead of going around the room switching everything off one at a time.
- Setting computers and video game consoles to sleep mode in case you forget to unplug them at the end of the day will save some energy.
- Choose new appliances and electronics that use less standby power than your old ones. Any equipment marked with the Energy Star seal has that feature.