I used to have a roommate many years ago who would unplug all of our appliances when they weren't in use. It actually bothered me because I would go to toast something and the toaster wouldn't work, until I finally started remembering to plug things in to use them. At the time, I believe she did this for safety, to prevent fires or electrical overloads, etc. Now that I have been living on my own, I have started to unplug appliances when not in use, but for a very different reason.
There are many resources out there on the net that explain this 'phantom load' issue, but here is some summarized info I have gathered.
The Bite
A "phantom load" is the energy that's sapped by appliances when they're plugged in, but not on. Use power strips or manually unplug DVD players, computers and cell phone chargers to save electricity from disappearing without a trace.
The Benefits
- Save big on your energy bills. In the average home, 40% of all electricity is used to power home appliances while they're turned off.
- Lower emissions. If all phantom loads in US homes were stopped, we could shut down 17 power plants.
- Power strips with surge protectors make it easy to "unplug" many appliances at once. Or buy a Smart Power Strip.
Overview
Believe it or not, many of the electronic devices in your home are quietly drawing electricity all the time, whether you are using them or not. It happens with stereos, televisions, microwaves, and many other appliances. As you can imagine, even small amounts of electricity multiplied by many millions of homes and appliances lead to staggering amounts of wasted energy when they are applied 24 hours a day. This energy use is known as standby power or vampire power (because it sucks your power in the middle of the night). Unlike mythological vampires, you don’t need garlic or wooden stakes to fend off this beast. You can simply unplug appliances that are not in use or buy a smart power strip that will do the work for you.
Tips & Tricks
Use a smart power strip. Because it’s not practical to unplug every appliance whenever you’re not using it, several companies have developed so-called smart power strips that do the job for you. They essentially monitor electricity use in each plug and shut off the ones that have been idle for a period of time. See below for details on where to get a smart power strip.
If you don’t have a smart power strip, unplug unused appliances. Even if you only unplug the ones with the highest standby power, this will still make a big difference. Use the references below to determine which of your electronic devices have the highest standby power (hint: TVs, VCRs, and stereos are among the worst culprits).
Smart power strips:
www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/smart_power_str.php
www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/cut_back_on_pha.php
So my toaster and coffee pot and even cell phone charger when not charging are all unplugged. I can't say I see a difference in my power bills, because month to month I run the air or heat differently so who knows... But I feel like I am saving energy/money so I keep unplugging...
