In the old monster movies, every vampire had a helpless victim who couldn’t fight back. It may surprise you to know that your home probably has a population of vampires all its own, and each one of them is sucking away electrical energy and dollars. You can fight back against energy vampires by knowing what they are and what to do about them.

Energy vampires in your home are the many energy-consuming devices that continue to use power even after they’ve been turned off. If left plugged in, many computers, televisions, microwave ovens, refrigerators, and similar electronics and appliances will still use a small amount of standby power to maintain internal settings, clocks, timers and similar features. Here are a few practical ways to fight back against the energy vampires in your home:

  • Unplug what’s not being used: Simply unplugging electronics and appliances that are not being used will stop any standby power use. Devices such as computers should have internal batteries for maintaining important settings. If the device doesn’t need to be plugged in, unplug it.
  • Use power strips: Plug several devices into a power strip. This way, power can be cut off to all them at once just by switching off the strip. Power strips are especially useful for eliminating standby power use in related equipment, such as computers, monitors and printers.
  • Go with Energy Star: Any product that carries the government’s Energy Star symbol has been tested and certified to be energy efficient and to use the least amount of standby energy possible. Use the product’s power management features to reduce energy use even further. Ask your retailer about Energy Star products or look for the Energy Star symbol on items you buy.

Comfort Systems, Wichita’s most trusted heating, air conditioning and plumbing company, is made up of several longstanding companies with a total of more than 120 years of local experience in HVAC and plumbing contracting. Contact us today for more information on how to fight back against energy vampires and trim standby energy use in your home.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Wichita, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy vampires and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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