Rid Your Home of Energy Bandits Pull the plug on standby electronic devices

The old adage, “If you’re not using it, turn it off,” holds true in many instances, especially with household electronic devices. However, getting these devices to truly turn off may take more than simply pushing the power button.

According to the Department of Energy, 75% of the electricity used to power electronics in the average home is consumed while the products are turned off. These phantom loads occur in televisions, game consoles, computers and kitchen appliances.

While the wasted standby power is typically small, the sum of all devices within the household is more significant.

Did you know a television with a remote could use more energy during the 20 hours it is turned off waiting for you to turn it on than it does while you are watching it for four hours in the evening?

Energy bandits lurk in a variety of places and have common features: a remote control (televisions, DVD players and audio equipment); a continuous digital display (glowing clocks on stoves and microwaves); rechargeable batteries (cordless phones, which use energy even after the battery is charged); and external power supplies (inkjet printers). Watch for the cubeshaped transformers that plug into the wall. These devices are 60% to 80% inefficient when plugged in, so it is important these are on power strips.

To find phantom loads in your home, turn off all lights at night and look for LED lights or other glows in the house. Any device that requires resetting after a blackout or power surge is an energy bandit.

Ridding your home of bandits is as simple as pulling the plug. You can switch off several devices often used together—such as a computer, monitor and printer—by using a switchable power bar or surge protector with multiple sockets. Unplug rarely used appliances and chargers that aren’t in use, including your microwave, toaster oven, hair dryer, game console and coffee pot.

Take control of your energy use with these additional simple, no-cost tips:

• For energy savings and convenience, turn off your computer monitor if you are not going to use it for more than 20 minutes. Turn off both the computer and monitor if you are not going to use them for more than two hours. Although there is a small rush of energy when a computer starts up, it is still less than the energy used when a computer is running for a long time.

• A common misconception is screen savers reduce a monitor’s energy use. They do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning off monitors is the better energy-saving strategy.

• To maximize savings with a laptop, put the adapter on a power strip that can be turned off or that automatically turns off. The transformer in the adapter—the big black box—draws power continuously, even when the laptop is not being used.

• Use power strips or surge protectors with all electronic devices, and unplug chargers when batteries are fully charged or chargers are not in use.

• Plug home electronics such as TVs and DVD players into power strips, and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use. In standby mode, they still use power.