Energy vampires: Is it worth it to unplug your electronics? | Yahoo! Green

Energy vampires: Is it worth it to unplug your electronics? Yahoo! Green

Energy vampires: Is it worth it to unplug your electronics?
By Lori Bongiorno Posted Mon Feb 8, 2010 4:53pm PST
Related topics: Electronics, Electricity, Saving energy at home
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

450 votesBuzz up!
new YAHOO.Media.Buzz("form-above",{"countPosition":"above","loggedIn":true});
digg_url = 'http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/121/energy-vampires-is-it-worth-it-to-unplug-your-electronics.html';
digg_title = '';
digg_ttopic = 'environment';
digg_window = 'new';

(Photo: Getty Images)
It's common knowledge that appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they're switched off but still plugged in.
One solution is to unplug electronics and chargers when you aren't using them. Or you can plug cords into a power strip and switch it off whenever you want to cut off all power to appliances.
But many consumers wonder if it's worth the hassle to unplug electronics they aren't using. The answer, of course, depends on your objectives.
While it's true that an "informed and aggressive approach can reduce standby use by about 30 percent," according to scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "There are more productive ways to save energy with an investment of an hour."
The upshot? If it's easy for you to unplug chargers and other electronics when you aren't using them, then go for it. And no-one says you have to unplug everything. You might want to choose the biggest energy hogs or items that are easily unplugged.
But don't fret if you find the job too tedious or hard to remember. The following actions are all easy and, in some cases, save you more money with much less effort than stamping out energy vampires.
Pick and choose what works best for you from this list, or try everything for an estimated annual savings of $275.