Now these vampires do not require garlic or wooden stakes, but they are just as dangerous as the blood suckers that are in movies, they drain money out of your wallet even when you are not looking. Who knew that if you left your electronics plugged in it adds hundreds of dollars to your bill every year. From your cell phone charger to your sound system everything in your house is basically stealing energy right out of your sockets and taking opportunities for fancy dinners and vacations with it. Costing consumers over 3 million dollars each year, vampire power or phantom power sends power to your electronics even if they are powered off. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that between 200-400 terrawatts of per year are victims of vampire power. This large drain of power causes energy to be wasted on a mass scale, causing coal and fuel to be burnt so your hair straightener can keep it's flow going even when not in use. yes, it is a drain on finances (which really sucks) but it has an even larger consequence of causing fuels to be consumed unnecessarily allowing even more natural resources to be used.
To combat this there have been some inventions to keep the flow of the current from escaping into your off appliances. For example:
-The Kill-A-WattThis device can be used to find those inefficient appliances that are the worst power consumer. This little device can also calculate the electrical cost of the item plugged into it for a week, a month and finally up to a year. If you are in the market for one of these money savers Amazon.com sells them for $20.99.
There are other types of devices that can be purchased that help stop the energy from jumping ship, like hooking all of your electronic to a remote control off switch. This type of technology allows for your already off electronics to be completely off.
So next time you leave your house try to remember to unplug all of your outlets. This will keep you from being completely drained!
