Energy Vampires: Are You Unwittingly Letting Them Overpower Your Home?

Halloween is still a few months away, but your home may have already been invaded by vampires. Instead of blood, these vampires consume energy. They are appliances, electronics and other devices that consume energy even after they’ve been turned off. This standby power loss can waste substantial amounts of electricity while increasing your ongoing energy expenses.

Computers, televisions, kitchen appliances and similar devices continue to consume a small amount of energy when they’re plugged in, even if they’ve been turned off. This energy is most often used to maintain clocks and other internal settings. While the standby energy used by any one device is generally small, over time and multiplied by many devices, the amount of energy used quickly grows into a significant amount, as much as $100 annually in some homes.

Here are some suggestions for stopping this standby power loss and banishing wasteful energy vampires from your home.

• Unplug when done: Probably the simplest way to eliminate standby power loss is to unplug electronics and appliances when they’re not in use. By cutting the connection to power supplies, no energy can be wasted. Unplug devices such as televisions, battery chargers, cell phone charges, power adapters and appliances if clocks or internal settings aren’t necessary.
• Plug into a power strip: Use a multi-outlet power strip to plug in several devices. When you’re done using them, you can turn them all off at once by switching off the power strip. When power strips are shut off, energy cannot flow from your electrical outlets to the devices plugged into the strip.
• Buy Energy Star-certified products: Products and devices that have earned the Energy Star label have been government tested and certified to be extremely energy efficient. Energy Star-certified devices will consume the least amount of energy possible during standby periods. Products such as computers, appliances and HVAC equipment can carry the Energy Star label.

At CCAC, Inc., we are Constantly Concerned About Customers, providing expert HVAC sales and service to Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend. Contact us today for more information on curbing standby power loss and for more advice on how to defeat your home’s hungry energy vampires.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about energy vampires and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Mathews CCAC Air Conditioning and Heating services Corpus Christi, TX. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!