Vampire Power

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Vampire power or also called standby power refers to power pulled from some device even after they have been shot off but are still plugged in. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that up to 10% of a household's annual electrical use can be attributed to vampire power. "This energy waste equates to millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, which is like adding millions of cars on the road." According to the International Energy Agency vampire power from household devices alone consumes up to 600 terawatt hours per year. This is more than many countries' entire national energy consumption. Identifying devices in the home that consume vampire power is essential. Chargers such as those use by cell phone owners is a major draw to this type of power. And, LED indicators-- those devices with clocks, or displays that stay on even when the device is on standby mode. Power strips are an effective way to turn off all such devices while not in use. Advanced power strips that turn off automatically when a device has not been in use for a certain amount of time is a good choice to reduce the vampire power.