What is Vampire Energy?
GOOD magazine created an infographic video about Vampire Energy (or standby power). That is all of the energy used by electronics in your house while you are not actively using them. The chart itself is straightforward and is effective in getting the message across.
There’s a vampire on the loose. Whether you’re at work, at home or out on the town, this vampire is:
- taking a bite out of your wallet and
- harming the environment.
But, there’s no need to barricade the house and stock up on garlic just yet.
This vampire works entirely through your electrical outlets. Stopping this monster can be as easy as pulling a few plugs.
Who is The Villain?
The villain in question is vampire power or standby power or phantom load. Or: vampire energy, leaking energy, wall warts, standby loss, idle current, phantom power, ghost load and vampire load. The terms refers to the electricity many gadgets and appliances waste just while without even in use (even if they’re switched off).
After all, what do you think your cell-phone charger does all day while it’s plugged into the wall? If it’s warm when you get home from work, then it’s been using electricity – even if it had nothing to charge.
Individually, your rechargeable electric toothbrush may not put that much strain on the local power plant, but the big picture is far more troubling. In the United States alone, vampire power costs consumers more than $3 billion a year [Energy Information Administration].
Over time, many microwaves and televisions actually consume more electricity during the hours they’re not in use than the times you’re actually using them to heat up dinner and watch your favorite show.
Credit: HowStuffWorks
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