What is vampire energy?When you think about using energy, you probably think of active uses first: running the dishwasher, plugging in a vacuum, or having the TV on. Vampire energy refers to energy being spent when an appliance or electronic is not being used. Having a cell phone charger plugged into an outlet without a phone attached still uses 0.26 watts of energy. If there’s a fully charged cell phone attached, it uses 2.24 watts. Phone chargers are far from the only device to sneakily steal energy: computers, clocks, and heating systems are all guilty of vampire energy. The energy lost from these devices adds up, both on your electric bill and in terms of environmental cost.
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Tips to reduce vampire energyThe best way to reduce the effect of vampire energy is to keep devices and appliances unplugged when not in use, but that isn’t always practical. Many outlets are difficult to get to when furniture is in place, and if you have small children, covering all the newly empty outlets would take a lot of time. Instead of unplugging every device you own, try some reasonable changes to how you use outlets:
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