Vampire Electricity: What Is It And How Can It Be Eliminated?
While the phrase doesn’t actually refer to the literal sucking of electricity, according to experts, vampire electricity costs can go up to $200 yearly in each household. That’s an entire $200 that’s being lit on fire because of electronics silently sucking power to stay semi-alive (standby more). According to the EPA, the United States can power up to 11 million homes using vampire electricity alone. Thus, it is important to understand this concept, so you can stop wasting power and save up to 10% on your electricity bills each year!
What is Vampire Electricity?
Vampire electricity is also known as phantom load or standby power and phantom load. This is the energy that is used by appliances even when they are switched off or on standby. For instance, even when you press the off button on your television remote, it will keep leeching power, waiting for you to turn it back on again.
Why Do Appliances Leak Energy?
Essentially, each device that remains connected to a socket keeps pulling electricity out. Most of the devices that are used in the home have a standby more. Some of the devices use power to silently run updates, connect to the internet, and record data. Connectivity is one of the reasons why devices keep using energy even when you switch them off. For instance, your TV is always listening for signal from the remote controller so it can switch on at any time.
Regularly available power allows devices to respond instantly when you decide to use them. While these features are convenient and handy, they can cost you a lot when it comes to your monthly bills. This is especially true for homes that have many devices that have a standby mode.
How to Eliminate Vampire Electricity
There are several methods to eliminate vampire electricity. These methods will allow you to save on your monthly electricity bills and even reduce your carbon footprint.
Unplug Devices You Are Not Using
There are some devices that you can plug out if they are not in use. For example, after you are done using the food processor in the kitchen, or after your kids are done watching cartoons in the spare bedroom, pull the cord out of the wall! While it is understandable to leave devices like your alarm clock connected, there are some rarely used appliances that do not need to remain connected to the socket.
Upgrade to Energy Star Appliances
You can’t replace everything in your home at once. However, it is advisable to replace an appliance once it maxes out its lifespan. When it’s time to replace one of your old appliances, go for one with a blue ENERGY STAR logo. These appliances are certified when it comes to saving energy. With such appliances, you will be able to save a lot on electric costs by reducing electricity seepage.
Plug into Power Strips
One of the easiest ways to deal with vampire electricity would be to just unplug everything after use. However, this might not be too practical. Instead, you can use an electric strip to cut back on electricity seepage. These devices are easily available and can be used to isolate and cut off power to assorted devices at the same time.
Instead of walking around unplugging devices one by one, you can simply press a button and cut off power to several appliances. Apart from that, power strips can also help consolidate cords and simplify the process of saving electricity.
Unplug when Charged
Most people today own smartphones and other devices that need to be charged regularly. The problem is people usually leave their chargers plugged in even when they are fully charged. Some even leave their devices charging overnight. This is not a good idea. You must monitor your device and ensure that once your phone or tablet is charged, you unplug it and switch off the charging socket.
Vampire electricity costs a lot of money, and it is important to ensure that you put in place measures to eliminate it in the home.
