Hooray for summer! My family took a road trip last week to Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park, hence the missing update.  However, I’m back now and ready to tackle your most perplexing energy questions.  And yes, I know I’m posting this on a Thursday.  I’m late sometimes… (that’s what she said – doh!)

This week, I’m taking on a query from the ever-awesome Johnny B. Truant. He asked…

I love this question because it acknowledges that electronics draw power even when they’re turned off or in stand-by mode.  If they’re plugged in, they’re probably sucking energy, hence the term “Vampire Power.”

They Vant To Suck Your Money

A cursory search around the web will show you that this is a very real issue and, while manufacturers of power-saving equipment would have you believe it’s a major contributor to higher bills, my experience has shown that an average consumer will only spend about 5% more if they leave everything plugged in all the time.  That averages out to about $50 extra per year for everything.

Obviously no one wants to throw away that kind of money, but I ask you to remember that’s just an average and expects you to have a few computers, a whole bunch of inefficient equipment and no power-saving measures whatsoever.  I would estimate unplugging a standard cable box every time it’s not in use would save you about $5 per year.

That said, many advances have reduced the amount of energy they’re pulling.  ENERGY STAR appliances and electronics were designed to draw far less power in standby mode than non-qualified items.  Check this out to learn more about how to buy products with low standby power draws.

Some will say that the increased focus on standby mode power use at the manufacturing level is helping the situation.  I disagree.  We have more crap that requires power than ever before, so our increasing volume offsets the reduction for those few items.  Fortunately, there are a number things you can do to stay in control of your power draw without climbing behind an entertainment center or desk…

Bring Out Your Slayer Stakes

Most computers have a sleep setting. Use it. If you want to go one step farther, flip the big switch in the back (if you have one) instead of the “soft” button on the front, which is more of a standby switch than a power button. Learn more about computer management at Climate Savers.

There are also a few different manufacturers offering smart power strips that eliminate the excess power draws experienced in your home or office.  One that I’ve received a lot of great feedback on is the Smart Strip Power Strip, which can save up to 73% of the wasted energy on a computer system if you set it to go to sleep after an hour and keep it plugged into the strip.

If you’d like to take it to the next level, you can reduce vampire power up to 85% with the Power Smart Tower featuring iGo Green® Technology.

You can find out just how much juice your electronics are pulling with a Kill-A-Watt device.  These things are great for predicting energy bills and also deciding which of your items need your attention the most.  Plus, they’re fun in a geeky sort of way.

The Advice You Weren’t Expecting…

Ultimately, you’re better off focusing on more pressing matters.  The amount of time you’re going to spend mitigating energy vampires could have a better bang if you gave your hour to something else…

• Do you already turn off the lights when you leave a room? Really? (don’t lie… you’re only doing so to yourself here)
• Speaking of lights, have you replaced all your incandescent bulbs with CFLs or LEDs?
• Do you already have setbacks scheduled on a programmable thermostat? Do you leave it, or do you mess with it according to your outfit, level of activity, etc?
• Do you use a ceiling fan to keep you cool instead of kicking up the AC? Do you reverse it in the winter to bring the heat down to you?
• Do you wash your clothes in cold water? Dry your clothes on a line when possible?
• Have you replaced outdated refrigerators, washers, and so on with energy efficient models that, by nature, use less than their predecessors?

If you’ve done all of this and still want to go after your vampires, I’d suggest checking out the Berkeley National Labs site on Standby Power.  I wish you luck and encourage you to contact me if you have any questions along the way!

A few quick notes before I go:

• Next week I’ll be back on the regular Wednesday schedule.  Hit me up if you have thoughts you’d like me to include or address.
• If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in a future post, tweet @Renewabelle or get in touch with me one of a few other ways over here.
• If you have any follow up questions or notes you’d like to add, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I hope this information proves useful and that it finds you well.

RB