What's wasting energy in your home right now

By Lori Bongiorno Posted Thu Oct 19, 2008

Virtually all of your electronics are sucking up energy even if they're turned off or not being used. Some of the biggest culprits include your TV, computer, and printer. Even your electric toothbrush is drawing energy when it's plugged in and sitting idle. 

On its own, the "vampire power" used by one device might seem miniscule, but collectively it amounts to more than $4 billion a year of wasted energy here in the United States. What's more, the Department of Energy says that about 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.  

The easiest (and most obvious) thing you can do is get up right now and unplug whatever you're not using. Candidates include:

• Your hand-held vacuum in its charging station
• Power drills
• Automatic coffee makers
• The VCR you haven't used in nearly a decade
• The TV that's collecting dust in the guest room
• The empty refrigerator in the garage

For the slightly more ambitious, buy a power strip at your local hardware store. Yes, it takes a little time up-front to plug everything into it, but you'll more than make up the time when you can cut all power with just the flip of a switch.

Clamping down on vampire power is one of the easiest ways to save money on your electric bill (about 5 percent a month) and pump less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It may not seem like much, but it all adds up!

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life, is available on Yahoo! Shopping.