Vampire Energy - SCARY!

While reading WorldChanging, I was surprised by a concept I was not familiar with - vampire energy.

Even when appliances are turned off, they can still use a lot of electricity in standby mode, to keep little lights blinking, and to keep all those digital clocks on microwaves and DVD players showing the wrong time.

These little amounts of electricity really add up when multiplied by the number of appliances in our homes, and the number of homes in the country. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that vampire energy will consume 20% of our nation's electricity by 2010. That’s 20% of our nation’s power plants operating just to keep our appliances OFF!

This cool vampire info graphic from GOOD Magazine shows how much electricity and money is wasted each year for particular appliances. Now that’s scary.

To prevent vampires from drinking up your electricity, unplug all your electronics when you’re not using them. Or try plugging a bunch of related appliances into a power strip and keep that turned off. My computer, printer, and speakers are all plugged into a surge protector, and because its a little annoying to bend under the desk to turn it on every time I want to check my email, I’m actually using my computer and its entourage of energy-sapping devices less often.

For the eco-gadgeteer, there are lots of cool gadgets emerging to deal with the problem for you, like GreenSwitch, Kill A Watt and Savasocket.

I could buy a new fair trade soccer ball with all the money I'll save!