Vampire Power

Vampire power, also known as standby power and phantom load, refers to the electricity that is wasted by appliances when they are plugged into the wall and are either in standby mode or are turned off.  Appliances such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, cell phone chargers, computers, etc. all consume vampire power. Each appliance, depending on its size and age, can consume as much as 10-15 watts by just being plugged in and being either off or in standby mode. This wasted power has huge implications for the environment. It has been estimated that vampire power accounts for more than 10% of total residential consumption in the United States each year and that it costs consumers a combined $3 million per year. This wasted energy is not only costly to consumers, but also to the environment. All of this wasted energy is produced by coal burning power plants, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which ultimately contributes to global warming.
However, there are several easy ways to tell how much vampire power an appliance is consuming and there are also several ways to prevent vampire power. One way to tell how much electricity an appliance is wasting is to plug the appliance into a watt meter, which tells how much energy an appliance is wasting. The most obvious solutions to preventing vampire power is to unplug appliances when they are not in use. This, however, can become a hassle so an easier alternative is to plug appliances into a power strip. When the appliances are not in use the power strip can be cut to 'off', which cuts power to the appliances. There are also 'smart strips' that appliances can be plugged into. The 'smart strip' recognizes for example when a television is turned off and in response it cuts the power to all of the accompanying appliances, such as the DVD player. While phantom power is very costly to both consumers and the environment and can be seen as an insurmountable problem, in reality there are several easy ways in which to prevent vampire power.