For Electric Customers
Energy vampires are appliances that, even when turned off, utilize a small amount of electricity, called phantom loads. Phantom, vampire or standby power is the energy used by appliances and electronics turned off but still plugged into an electrical outlet or power strip.
Standby power is used for readiness with remote controls, battery chargers for phones and electronics, as well as clock displays, timers and in some cases is simply wasted power as a result of leaving an item plugged in such as a video game, electronic device or battery charger.
Some estimates suggest Americans have anywhere between 20 - 40 vampire devices throughout their homes and the cost of this wasted energy could be as much as one month’s energy bill per year.
No matter what it is called, vampire, phantom, or standby power, most of it can be avoided by either unplugging the appliances or electronic devices, by using power strips and using the off switch to cut all power to the appliance, or using smart energy strips.
Learn more about
standby power and energy vampires on the ENERGY STAR® website.
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