A power vampire is any appliance or electronic device that silently sucks power out of an outlet even when it's turned off. These days, most people have many power vampires lurking in rooms throughout their house without even being aware of it. Sadly, these power vampires are costing us dearly in terms of lost money and electrical power and doing a great deal of damage to our environment at the same time.
The term "Energy Vampires" was coined in 2001 by the first President George Bush when he appointed Spenser Abraham as the Energy Secretary and directed him to head up an initiative to reduce the amount of standby power used by electrical devices in the United States. Unfortunately, those goals never reached fruition.
Power Vampires are Everywhere
In fact, today's electrical devices continue to seriously leach power even in standby mode despite the availability, in most cases, of more efficient and equally affordable alternatives. Standby mode is the "sleeper" mode that your computer or television is in when it isn't on but isn't completely off either. It can be immediately started up, usually by remote, with just a click and the internal clock continues to run. Although full power isn't running, several watts of power are still being used in standby mode.
In the United States alone, standby mode uses 65 billion kilowatt hours of power each year and releases 87 billion pounds of heat trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It costs each American a substantial amount in additional utility costs, contributes to recurring headaches from carbon dioxide lingering in the home and contributes to global warming, impacting the environment irreparably.
Although the numbers vary widely, appliances can consume anywhere from 1 to over 100 watts in standby mode - that's quite a range! Some of the most notable offenders are flat screen televisions and computers. If, in fact, we could reduce all standby power to only 1 watt (the original goal of the Bush initiative) by 2012, it would have the same impact as removing a half million cars from the road.
Slaying the Power Vampires in Your Home
You can begin the movement toward reducing the impact of power vampires by starting at home. Take a look around your home and see where you are using standby mode unnecessarily. If you aren't sure which ones are in standby, try walking through the house after dark - wherever you see those glowing LED lights (your television, DVD player, computer, printer, stereo, etc.), something is running in standby mode.
These are the appliances that are sucking power. Phone chargers are also major culprits; in fact, they continue to draw electrical power even when no phone is plugged into the charger. Eight percent of the typical home's electrical bill goes toward standby power. How can you get rid of this 8% and reduce the impact on your health and the environment?
Unplug appliances and electronics when you aren't using them instead of just turning them off.
Plug your computer, printer and scanner into a power strip. It's easier to flip a single switch on the power strip and turn everything off at once.
Be sure that you turn off your television and stereo off at the source, not by remote control. Remotes simply turn these electronics to a standby mode; they don't turn them off.
You can also upgrade to appliances and electronics that use less energy in general and that draw less energy in standby mode or when they are turned off. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy have designated certain appliances as Energy Star appliances; these appliances meet stringent requirements for electrical usage and are not Power Vampires.
Also consider investing in a Kill-A-Watt meter, a neat little gadget that you plug into any outlet, and then plug your electronics into. It will then give you an accurate reading of how many watts the device is drawing in both standby mode and when switched on. From there, you can decide whether it's worth replacing the item. Another great helper is the Wattson by DIY Kyoto.
There is no denying that Power Vampires are draining our electrical power reserves while steadily pumping more poisonous carbon dioxide into our atmosphere every year. It is up to us to take the steps in our own homes to take the individual steps in the right direction to reduce this trend. Manufacturers are also working toward reducing the impact of Energy Vampires, but we must all work together to protect our air and tame our electrical usage so that future generations still have reasonable energy sources available.