Vampires in the House

Have you ever felt like your electricity bill was going through the roof? Did you know? Many common household appliances consume energy even when they are not in use. Electronics are very popular in recent decades.  A variety of household appliances and devices are guzzling down energy when they are not in use, but are plugged in. Environmental Protection Agency reports that these devices cost Americans almost $10 billion a year in electricity, and they account for almost 11 percent of all U.S. energy use.

Here some of the products that will continually consume electricity when the device is not in use:

• Remote control

• External power supply

• Digital display, LED status light, or digital clock

• Battery charger

• Soft-touch keypad

Tips to reduce your power consumption:

• Unplug products that are rarely used. In many American homes, a good example is a television and DVD player in a rarely used guest room.

• Use a power strip with a switch that controls clusters of products. The most likely targets are computer clusters (computer, printer, scanner, speakers, wireless transmitter, etc.).

• Entertainment clusters (television, DVD player, speakers, game consoles, etc.).

• Audio clusters (receiver, amplifier, CD players, etc.).

By Charmaine Reddix
http://www.america.gov/st/business-english/2009/April/20090410135943CMretroP0.7019116.html