Become a Vampire Slayer: How to Cut Hidden Energy Costs in Your Home

John Jones lives by himself in a two-bedroom apartment. He heats his home and cooks with natural gas. His electric bill runs around $12 a month. A pretty affordable bill, you must admit. Then there is Jane Doe. She lives by herself in a two-bedroom home. She heats her home with propane and she cooks with propane as well. But, her electric bill is rarely under $100 a month. There are obvious differences in their lifestyles which can help to explain the huge differences in their electric bills: Jane has a washer and dryer, while John takes his clothes to a Laundromat; Jane has a separate freezer in addition to her refrigerator, while John makes do with his refrigerator freezer; and Jane owns a computer, a DVD/VCR player, a stereo, an electric treadmill, a cordless phone and a digital camera. John doesn't own any of these electronic devices. So that probably accounts for Jane's higher energy usage, right? But she doesn't use these devices on a daily basis. She leaves them plugged in, but she makes sure they are all turned off when they're not in use to help save electric. Unfortunately, "off" doesn't really mean "off" when it comes to energy-sucking electronics. Jane needs to learn how to become a Vampire Slayer and cut hidden energy costs in her home.

The term "Vampire" has been widely used to describe electronic devices that suck power even when they're turned off. "Vampire" seems to be an appropriate term since they suck power with their "two teeth", or, the prongs of the plug when it's placed in an outlet.

If you're wondering whether wasted Vampire power is really a problem across the United States, then consider these facts: according to the EnergyStar website, televisions waste approximately 25% in Vampire power. VCR's suck up about 30%, and cordless phones eat up a whopping 66%.