They lurk in your home, sucking up power and driving up your electric bill. These evil creatures are Energy vampires and they waste an average of $165 of power from every household each year. By taking a few simple steps you can stop the electricity bleed and save money.
Unplug the Beasts
Unknown to most, electronic devices like televisions, video game consoles, and phone chargers use energy even as they sit idle. The off switch is not enough. To stop these items from adding cost to your electric bill, you must unplug them. Take a good look around and unplug appliances like the coffee maker, video game equipment, chargers for cell phones and other devices, computers, CD players, DVRs, and during the summer, the furnace. It saves on your electric bill and helps conserve precious electricity.
Use Power Strips
The more electronic devices you own, the more electricity you use. Power strips help handle the load so you don’t overload the circuits. Instead of going around turning off and unplugging individual appliances, just flip off the power strip and it ceases the energy flow, saving you time and money. When charging computers, tablets, or cell phones, once they finish charging, they still use power. Plug them into a power strip and when the charging stops, turn off the strip or unplug it.
Energy Savers
When replacing appliances in your home, look for the Energy Star label. That big yellow label on refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, televisions, and many other items says this device consumes less power and helps save money. Manufacturers know the importance buyers place on energy efficiency and more appliances than ever before show the Energy Star designation.
Tracking the Offenders
Do a household audit and see what eats the most energy in your home. Using a “kill a watt” device lets you know which appliances use the most electricity so you know what to unplug. Obviously, you cannot unplug the refrigerator even though it uses a lot of electricity, but test other devices and find out which appliances take more than their fair share of power.
Switch to LED Lights
Changing from standard light bulbs to LED bulbs saves energy and that saves money. The new smart lights, many of which include sensors, only go on when it gets dark. LED lights use an average of $1.23 of electricity during a year, while incandescent bulbs use a whopping average of $15.42 annually. Multiply the difference by the number of light bulbs in your home and you see how much you save by making the switch.
Despite many devices becoming more energy efficient, households today have much more electronic things, thus you use more power than ever before. Don’t let Energy Vampires drain your home. Take steps that prevent electronic devices from using more electricity than they need. Save money and a precious resource by unplugging things, using power strips more often, and switching to LED light bulbs. Your wallet thanks you.
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