You can save a few hundred bucks a year by unplugging electronics that aren't in use. Put simply, you're paying electric bills for stuff you aren't using. As long as they're plugged in, your computers, peripherals and home electronics are eating up energy when you think they're off -- and in no small amount, either.
This phenomenon is often called "vampire energy loss," and it's easy to see why. Like the blood-drinking creatures of the night, your devices are sucking down power while you sleep.
Anything that's plugged in pretty much these days is drawing some current.
Experts estimate that standby energy drain accounts for anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of an average home's annual power usage. Convert that percentage into dollars, and you've got around $4 billion in wasted spending across America every year. For most families, that means a minimum of $130 a year -- more than some people spend on a typical month's electric bill. Even things like cell-phone chargers tack on an extra couple bucks when left plugged in, with nothing attached. Factor in other always-on appliances such as DVRs and stereo receivers, and the total rises quickly.
The wasted cash is bad enough, but the toll on Mother Nature is worse. Vampire energy accounts for 1 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, Meier says. In the U.S. alone, that's equal to the combined annual production of dozens of power plants.
