Are you sure that you are doing everything you can to reduce expenses? Most people end up paying more than they have to on their power bills because of a steady leakage of electricity through electronic appliances even when they are in switched off or standby mode. This standby power is also called vampire power for very obvious reasons.

To get an indication of how much power you are inadvertently wasting, take a look around your house at night. You will see a lot of light from digital displays on most of your devices. This indicates that even if they are on standby mode, they are quietly sucking away at electricity, just in the way a vampire sucks blood.

Next you should look around to see how many power adapters are plugged into the lines. Some of them might have a light to indicate that they are on, but most will not even have that. Since these adapters have no power off switch, you can be sure that they keep consuming electricity, albeit in small quantities. Cell phone adapters are probably the biggest energy wasters of all, since they tend to be left plugged in at all times. Almost all of them continue to pull power from the line even when the cell phone or other device connected to them is fully charged. You will be surprised to know that even draw power when there is no device attached to them.

Very common devices that are guilty of leaking vampire power are televisions, DVD players and most audio systems. Microwave ovens, with their digital display, are almost always left on. Other culprits are computers, printers and digital monitors. The impact of these power vampires on your electricity bill may be small, but when you consider how much these small amounts add up to month after month over the years, you would certainly want to do something about it.

The solution to this vampire energy loss is very simple; you just have to unplug the devices you are not using. You will have to make it a habit to do this every time you have finished using some electronic appliance. To make things easier, particularly when you have a lot of plugs for a single system, a computer or home theater system for example, a surge suppressor or power strip will work best. You can switch off the main supply with a single switch instead of fussing with individual ones.

If however, you have any particular device that requires its standby power so that it can keep its configuration setting, you will have to keep it that way.

Apart from saving money, you will also protect yourself from accidental fires that could happen when appliances get over heated, particularly if it is very old. The other aspect, which is difficult to ignore these days, is that you can help save the environment by reducing your electricity wastage. Don’t you think this is a good reason to keep track of every single energy vampire in your house?

Author Bio: I am basically a graduate at the University of Hamburg and you can get awesome articles and valid information from the ones which I submit specially for you to take a look at. Check out Vampire Images, Vampire Graphics or Vampire Pictures.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: vampire, energy vampire, accidental fire, electricity wastage, saving money, power bills