Energy Efficiency: What Your Appliances Really Do Behind Your Back (VIDEO)
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Vampire power, energy being leeched from your electronic appliances even while turned off, is a huge source of energy consumption. The Department of Energy estimates that 40% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while they are off. Eric Rochow from Real World Green provides some tips to help you keep your vampire power under control, and some shocking statistics that reveal why it's so vital to take care of.
WATCH what your appliances really do when you aren't home:
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04:41 AM on 05/12/2010
This video really tells it all. This is a very interesting topic to tackle. This will be very helpful to those you wants to build an energy efficient and environmentally friendly homes and buildings. There are a lot of cost-effective and energy efficient products out in the market nowadays such as window tints. While most window films are for reducing solar heat gain in the summer, low-e films both block summer heat and improve winter heat retention. Learn more about window tints at www.TintBuyer.com. They provide relevant information about window tints such as its types, quotations and will help you locate the best professional tinter near your area. Window tints are cost-effective, energy-efficient and definitely eco-friendly. 
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09:31 PM on 05/09/2010
I am afraid if I lower my consumption any more, they will raise rates another 11%.
01:33 AM on 05/09/2010
i'm going to be changing a lot of things in my house- glad i saw this!
01:46 PM on 05/08/2010
They leave a unique bite-mark on your neck: two slots and a hole...8{O
01:03 PM on 05/08/2010
During my load calculations for an off the grid home we use to call these loads "phantom loads" and estimated the load chart accordingly. Install on-off switches on most electrical items and be aware and your loads will be reduced significantly.
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06:00 PM on 05/07/2010
Energy Star is a scam. Tell me how many watts or BTUs something uses. I don't need no stinkin' sticker that may or may not designate energy efficiency. Those little transformers are a scam as well. They just allow the avoidance of UL listing for electrical appliances and suck up power. Ever try and find a replacement transformer? They are always the wrong voltage, wrong amperage, wrong polarity or use a proprietary connector that is currently obsolete. Using power strips is an answer, but not a good one. I don't appreciate crawling around on my hands and knees under and behind furniture to unplug the vampires or turn off the power strips every night before bed. Every appliance or gadget should be required by law to have a "MAINS" switch that kills all power to that appliance if desired.
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07:32 PM on 05/07/2010
if the world were ever so willing to devise one, a learning universal remote control could just turn off all the power to a power strip (assuming we had remote controlled power strips), and then you push a button and all the stuff comes back on...of course then the strip itself becomes a vampire....
12:02 PM on 05/09/2010
Or you could just purchase a "smart" power strip that turns on all of the other appliances plugged into it when the "main" appliance is turned on. I have one that turns on the monitor and speakers when I turn on my computer. However, you're right that the strip has to be left "on" and the main applaince is acting as if it where plugged into the wall.
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10:07 PM on 05/07/2010
Energy Star ratings aren't a scam. We used them to help us buy a new washing machine (front loading) and refrigerator (bottom freezer). The savings showed up right away. The washing machine saved a lot of money, not only on electricity, but on water and natural gas for the water heater. The only 2 drawbacks on the fridge were that it was taller than the old one and I lost a shelf -- and it turned out that the old fridge was a source of heat for our kitchen in winter. Much better in summer though. :-)
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01:07 PM on 05/08/2010
Apparently, you are not aware of manufacturers who have been found to use the Energy Star label when their product is far, and sometimes very far, from being as energy efficient as required to earn the rating. It seems as though the testing and auditing is spotty. It's kind of like putting, "New and Improved," label on your product. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. All it takes is a very few manufacturers being dishonest to cast doubt on the entire rating program. I still say: Tell me (truthfully) the wattage, amperage, BTU input and output etc., and I'll decide the relative efficiency.
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10:00 PM on 05/09/2010
Energy star ratings are a complete fraud. A gas powered alarm clock got and Energy Star rating!! A typical government/bureaucratic incompetent hoax.http://www.greenlivingtips.com/blogsbeurocratic /500/Energy-Star-fraud.html
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01:04 PM on 05/07/2010
Gee, silly me, thinking that "off" means "off." Might this be an area where we, as consumers, could demand that manufacturers actually make products that can be easily and TRULY turned off?
Meanwhile, thank for the tips. Time to change some habits. With me the cell phone charger was plugged in all the time because that was the only way I could ever find it. Gonna change that now.
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10:10 PM on 05/07/2010
I knew that appliances with remotes sucked some power, but not so much. Scary, especially since our TV is hardly ever on anyway.
10:07 AM on 05/07/2010
I have been doing this and it saved me around $5 per month after I started. It is like remembering to turn the light off when you leave a room.
09:38 AM on 05/07/2010
Well, OK then. Time to turn off the power strip and unplug the cell phone charger.
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09:33 AM on 05/07/2010
watching this as big news it's funny! here in europe agencies are drumming about the so called vampire power since at least a decade! what is not news to me is that americans are way behind when it comes to saving resources! but hey, better later than never!!! go on yankees!
09:43 AM on 05/07/2010
Yes. If we were too quick to behave in a manner that even seems european, then we'd be socialists and all our states would have to all secede from one another. So, you see, it's in our best interest to ignore europeans and continue telling our citizens that the US is exceptional!Now that WE'VE discovered "vampire power," we can do something about it.
Cheers!!
Huffington Post First Posted: 07/06/10 06:12 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 05:25 PM ET