Did you know that many everyday devices around your home keep draining energy even when they’re not in use? These are energy vampires, and they carry a phantom load that can add five percent to your yearly energy consumption. Finding and dealing with the vampires hiding out around your home isn’t difficult, and it can help you curb unnecessary energy usage and lower your utility bills.
Identifying Energy Vampires 101
Some energy vampires are easy to spot. They include large-screen, LED and LCD TVs, cable/satellite TV receivers, surround sound systems, cordless phones as well as computers and their peripherals. You can quickly identify other devices by how they work and how they’re powered. Look around your home for items equipped with power supply boxes on their cords or remote controls, along with devices that charge batteries or have continuously-lit displays or built-in clocks.
Tips for Getting Rid of Energy Vampires
When you’ve located all the problematic devices around your house, take these steps to limit or end their non-stop energy drain:
- Pull the plug on seldom-used devices. Unplug any items that you don’t use regularly, like an extra TV, DVD player, stereo, or spare computer. You can always plug them back in temporarily if and when they’re needed.
- Put power strips in place. You can make it easy to shut off the power to clusters of devices when they’re not in use by placing them on one power strip. One example of a cluster is your TV, cable/satellite and surround sound boxes.
- Make use of the standby feature. If you’d rather not unplug some devices, like your computer or video game console, go in and adjust the sleep mode settings so they go on standby automatically.
- Make energy-saving replacements. When a device that you know carries a phantom load needs replacement, opt for a new one with the Energy Star logo. These products are the most energy efficient available, so they consume less electricity even when they’re not in use.
To learn more ways to deal with energy vampires in your Yuma home, contact us at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about TOPIC and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “mattysimpson/Pixabay”
