Watch out for the 'electricity vampires' in your home
Halloween has come and gone, but you likely still have vampires hanging around your house -- especially if you love your high-tech gadgets and gizmos.
With many of your consumer electronics products plugged into AC sockets -- with an average of 40 items per household connected at any one time -- they're still "sucking" electricity, even when not in use.
In fact, these products can still consume up to 22 per cent of its full power, even when switched off. This is why this little-known issue is often referred to as "vampire power."
Along with kitchen appliances, which are the main culprits, other common "electricity vampires" include televisions, cable/satellite boxes, DVD players, game consoles, printers, cell phone chargers and desktop PCs.
What to do? There are a number of ways to help fight vampire power (also referred to as "standby power" or "phantom power"). One is to simply unplug the gadgets from the wall when you're not using them. This is especially true if you're going away on a vacation for a week or two (er, a refrigerator is another story, of course).
Another tip is to pick up consumer electronics branded with Energy Star 3.0 compliance, such as many new HDTVs, which means they've been tested to consume less energy -- which is good not just for the environment but for your wallet, too.
There's also products such as the Belkin Conserve ($59.99; belkin.com), a surge-protecting 10-outlet power bar, eight of which are "switchable" to cut the current altogether -- via a wireless remote. The "always on" outlets are for devices you want to remain powered at all times, such as a personal video recorder (PVR) or wireless router.
-- Marc Saltzman, MSN Tech and Gadgets
Comments
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Posted by: Jeff | Nov 12, 2009 6:15:41 PM
I would suggest though that before everyone starts unplugging everything to be careful, especially with satellite/cable boxes. A friend of mine was trying to conserve power so was unplugging everything not in use and, as a result, continually caused problems with her cable box. It seems as though at least some have to be "on" at all times and unplugging them can cause reception problems which only the cable company can fix.
Posted by: os | Nov 17, 2009 11:10:35 AM
this isnt anything new nor worth writing about. you have to be a total noob or retard to not know that things still use electricity even though they are turned off and still PLUGED IN. ah duhHH
Posted by: theguyaboveisa bigloser | Dec 26, 2009 11:01:13 PM
no your a retard^