Standby Power is Costing you Hundreds each Year

We use electrical appliances every day. Whether it is the coffeemaker, the desktop computer, or even the printer, our daily activities frequently demand we enlist the aid of electronic devices. When we are done using them, a simple shutdown is how most people go about powering them down and cutting off their energy usage. Unfortunately, what most people fail to realize is that even when devices are no longer turned on, if they are plugged in they could still be using energy. This is known by many names, including standby power and the phantom load, but most commonly this is called vampire energy and it ends up costing Americans roughly $19 billion dollars each year.

The reason for this unnecessary energy drain is that many devices still need to connect to servers, perform updates, and be able to receive signals. As a result, energy is continuously being used by appliances and costing many people money. It is believed that vampire energy accounts for one-fifth of energy usage in the home each month and with the rapid adoption of smart technology within households, everything from smart thermostats to personal assistants like the Amazon echo, that number is likely to increase.

There are ways to begin combatting vampire energy, varying from simple behaviors that are needed every time something is used to more advanced appliances that are able to reduce the flow of electricity while devices are powered down. One of the simplest ways to eliminate standby power is to unplug devices after they are no longer in use. This immediately stops them from being able to draw power from outlets. Some devices even have an energy saver mode, which reduces the energy used. And there is more where that came from. Vampire energy is a menace, but finding the tips and tricks that work for you is an easy way to stop the suck once and for all.