- Appliances: use less power
- Beware vampire appliances
- Commercial building energy assessments
- Commercial building incentives
- Common mistakes
- Gifts that save energy all year
- Heating and coolling savings
- Holiday lighting: festive & efficient
- Insulation types: pros & cons
- Kitchens: ways to save
- Lower your utility bills
- Path to Energy Efficiency
- Programmable Thermostats
- Radon: test after energy upgrade
- Refrigerator: retire for quick payback
- Resolutions to conserve energy and save money
- Seal duct leaks
- Stack Effect Influences Energy Use
- Systems in house work together
- Wash clothes in cold water
- Water heating bills
- Where to make home improvements
- Windows: repair, don't replace
Beware vampire appliances
Your Path to Energy Savings
By Craole Fisher, Special to The Ithaca Journal
December 20, 2010
If you thought that switching an appliance off stopped the flow of electricity, think again. On some appliances, "off" does not really mean off, it means "standby." The term, standby power, is used to describe the amount of power consumed while the electrical device is switched "off," and the appliances themselves are often called vampire appliances. They're called vampire appliances because they bleed you of your energy dollars.
What's the big deal if some electrical appliances use a bit of electricity when they are switched off? After all, we want to be able to record TV shows when we're not home and have other similar conveniences. Consider that the typical home has about 20 vampire appliances. Although some appliances use a very small amount of power when off, others use almost as much electricity when switched off as when they are on. On a national level, vampire appliances cost consumers over a billion dollars per year.
What can you, the consumer, do to prevent vampire appliances from bleeding you of electricity and money? Plug appliances into fuse-protected power strips that can be totally switched off if you don't need the standby features. Look for advanced or "smart" power strips with features that automatically turn off power to some devices.
Also, look for appliances with the ENERGY STAR® label when making a purchase. These appliances are guaranteed to use far less energy than standard appliances while turned on and also while in standby mode. For example, an energy-efficient TV might consume up to 20 times less standby power while providing the same features as a conventional energy-slurping TV.
Now is the perfect time to get on the path to energy savings and start saving money. To learn more, come to a free Save Energy Save Dollars workshop. Call 272-2292 for dates and times.
