Here's a riddle: What common household device still uses electricity, even when it's turned off? Answer: Pretty much everything.
According to U.S. News & World Report, "Many electronic items still draw power when they're turned off. It's a phenomenon called 'phantom' load, and it sucks about 5 percent to 10 percent of the energy used in America's homes each year." The best way to stop it is to unplug your electronic devices when you're not using them.
This is one of my favorite ways to save on our electric bill, because it's so darn easy. I use a power strip to plug in devices that are close to each other, and then I just turn the strips off at night before I go to bed.
We save a fair amount on our bill by doing this, but our electric bill was kind of small to begin with. I imagine, though, that most households would notice some difference.
Have you guys ever tried it? How much did you save?
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5 comments:
I'd heard this but forgot about it. I'm curious to know which appliances are most likely to suck electricity when off, so I can assign power strips accordingly.
Great idea about the power strips. I was thinking it would be a pain to turn everything off, but I have several clusters of stuff that I could try that with - wouldn't hurt to save a little on the electric bill :)
Kristin
I haven't tried it yet, but I definitely think with the power strip idea that it is more do-able.
Thanks for asking how I am doing :-) Just taking it one day at a time- some are better than others! I work at a year-round school, so starting the new school year I have been super busy which I appreciate- less time to think, more autopilot!
Hey. I know you already have a lot of awards, but I left you a little something on my blog.
Beth
http://pleasemomdontsing.blogspot.com
http://www.supermediastore.com/kilwateldet1.html
A kill-a-watt meter costs $20 shipped and will tell you how much energy anything plugged into it uses. Very fun little device if you're serious about tracking down where your power goes.
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