Recently, along with my Duke Energy bill I received a very informative email about what they are calling “ENERGY VAMPIRES.” Since it’s almost Halloween, I figured what a great time to talk about these green tips!
Many devices we use in our home use electricity even when they are turned off; these are ENERGY VAMPIRES. This is the opposite of BEING GREEN and nobody likes to waste money right? To get them to stop consuming electricity, you must completely unplug them from their outlet. If they are plugged into a power strip, turn the power strip off. This may not be practical for everything, but there are a lot of little devices around your home eating tons of energy that you could unplug. You can also buy a “smart” power strip that will cut off idle power to these devices. These “smart” power strips aren’t much more expensive than a normal surge protector.

Think about your..

• Coffee Maker
• DVR, DVD player or VCR
• Cell phone chargers
• Video game systems
• Computers

If your power cords look like this, they are likely consuming energy even when the device is turned off.

Think you can’t possibly make a green impact? Energystar.gov estimates that the average American household wastes $100 per year powering these devices while they are turned off.

If you could reduce your electric bill by $8 a month you would, wouldn’t you?