Could Phantom Electricity Loads Be Adding 30% to Your Electric Bill?

Of all the energy saving ideas that circulate in magazine articles, in broadcast media, and in the brochures mailed with your monthly utility statement from the gas, light, water, and telephone company, nothing stands out like this little nugget. This tiny little lump is always over looked because it seems so insignificant. It is indeed literally tiny. However, it could be responsible for as much as 30% of your monthly electrical utility cost. Tiny though it may be, it is not the single instance of it that creates the electrical glut, it is the multitude of its tiny friends that also populate your home.

When you turn out all of the lights in your home this evening, walk around, in the darkness, and look for signs of these little electric termites that are slowly gnawing away at your electric bill. Notice all of those little red, green, amber, and blue lights on. It's like a potpourri of Christmas lights sprinkled all over your house. They are on your, the cable receivers, your stereo amplifier and its components, your computer monitor and printer, and a host of other appliances that can be found in nearly every room in your home.

These phantom electricity load guzzlers are electronics devices in instant on mode. There is a constant trickle of electrical power always flowing to them so that you get an instant response when you turn them on. This constant trickle of electrical power, although small for a single appliance in instant on mode, when multiplied by the number of such devices populating your home, it is easy to understand how they are accumulating to a 30% or higher portion of your monthly electric bill. Are you going to do something about this? You should!

Unplug them. Begin immediately disconnecting all non-essential devices that are equipped with the standby power loop support. Is it really important to have instant on accessibility for every electronic device you use? Is it worth the additional 30% in additional electrical utility expense it may be costing you? It will require some habit changes and in some situation it may be a little inconvenient, but won't the utility savings make it worth it? In areas were there is a group of instant mode loop appliances why not place an outlet strip which they all can be plugged into. Then you can switch off the power to the strip and reduce their gnawing bites of power. Many newer electronic devices power supply cord plugs directly into the device. Unplugging the power cord from the device and safely storing it near the unit is another alternative.

Kill these phantom loads. Stop wasting electricity and save more energy. Release your household appliances from their standby power loop. Stop the energy drain.

Stop the Energy Drain - Women's Day - November, 2008