MONEY MATTERS: Are There Vampires In Your Home?

By now, most Americans are not only convinced that global warming is real, but also that we are largely responsible for it as well.

As a result, some people have taken pro-environmental steps, such as buying hybrid cars or increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, in an effort to be more responsible citizens.

But even if you use latest energy efficient appliances, or energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, or even if you’ve installed the most energy efficient windows and insulation, there are hidden phantoms in your home -- the kind you may never even have thought of -- stealing precious energy at your expense.

The fact is, many of the various appliances and electronic devices in your home act like vampires, silently sucking away energy even when they are turned “off.”

Most televisions, stereos, VCRs, and other appliances that use a remote, never really turn off when you hit the “off” button — instead they remain in a standby mode. In fact, any device that has a glowing LED (light-emitting diode) after you switch it off is still drawing power and using energy.

This is called “phantom power” — power you don’t realize your home is using. Though this phantom usage amounts to a relatively small percentage of your home’s electricity use (estimated at about five percent), collectively it adds up.

According the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), phantom energy usage across all U.S. households adds up to an estimated 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. This extra electricity costs consumers more than $5.8 billion annually and sends more than 87 billion pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

The UCS says that some of the biggest energy wasters in most homes are the adapters that come with rechargeable battery-powered cordless phones, cell phones, digital cameras, music players, power tools, and other electronic devices. Most draw power whenever they’re plugged into an outlet, regardless of whether the device’s battery is fully charged — or even connected.

Other culprits include appliances or electronic equipment that use a remote control, those with standby capability (such as TVs and computer monitors), and devices that have a digital display (such as microwaves, DVD players, stereo systems, coffeemakers, stoves, and dishwashers).

The easiest way to control the use of phantom power is to plug the larger appliances, such as the TV and DVD player, into a power strip with a kill switch and use that switch to turn them off, rather than just the remote. This will stop the flow of power to the appliances and prevent the slow trickle of wasted energy. Power strips are an inexpensive and easy solution.

When your major appliances need to be replaced, purchase the most energy-efficient products available. Look for products that have the EnergyStar logo, indicating that they have passed a government efficiency test. These products generally don’t cost much more than the less-efficient ones, but will result in valuable savings over the lifetime of the products.

For more information on energy “phantoms” or “vampires,” see the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs’ webpage: http://EETD.LBL.gov/Leaking/Reducing.html.

Sean M. Kennedy, Money Correspondent:

Money Matters, by Gather Correspondent Sean M. Kennedy, is published every Friday to Gather Essentials: Money.

Money Matters is a practical look at money and how developments in the American economy may affect you.

Sean is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

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