Energy Vampires: Don’t Let Them Overpower You

As our nation battles an energy crisis and utility costs keep rising, homeowners are continuously looking for ways to cut back on energy usage. While you may be checking twice to make sure that lights are off when you aren’t using them, you may not be aware of the silent energy vampires that are slowly draining electricity from your home — and money from your wallet.

In order to protect yourself from the costs inflicted by these energy wasters, you must be aware of your home’s energy consumption and take measures to only utilize what you need.

What is an energy vampire?

Though it may seem like something out of a fairy tale, energy vampires are a very real threat to greater Orlando-area homeowners like yourself. Standby power, which is the energy that some products use when they are plugged in but turned off, is what feeds these electricity suckers.

Though some appliances, like clocks that use standby power, are useful, others simply waste power. Cell phone chargers, adapters, and other electronic devices that are left plugged in when not in use are the true energy vampires. In fact, over the course of a year, these vampires could cost you an average of $100 in wasted energy.

How can you combat household energy vampires?

To implement an energy-saving plan and put a stop to energy vampires, here’s what you can do:

• Shop smart — Talk to an energy-efficiency expert about which Energy Star-qualified products can provide you with the lowest  consumption of standby power.
• Take full advantage — If you have Energy Star-rated computer and related equipment, take advantage of their power-management settings, which will cause your computer and monitor to go into power-saving mode when not being used.
• Use power strips – Unplugging equipment like TVs, DVDs, and gaming systems one by one to save energy can be a pain. It’s a smart idea to plug these products into a central power strip so that all items can be turned off simultaneously when not in use.
• Go unplugged — If you’re not charging batteries or cell phones, unplug the chargers. Plugged in, they will draw standby energy.

For more advice on slaying energy vampires, contact the professionals at Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning. We’re proud to serve the greater Orlando area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas 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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