1000 Flowers for the Planet - #447 Switch Off at the Wall

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #447 Switch Off at the Wall

Vampires are pretty trendy these days, but have you ever heard of vampire electricity? It can also be called electricity leak, phantom energy or leaking energy. This is electricity that is being used by your appliances even when they are turned off. Usually the amount being leaked is extremely small – for example, a phone charger will use 1 watt of electricity without any phone attached to it. All those appliances that have clocks or some type of display that functions even when you turn off the appliance, such as microwaves, TVs, DVD players etc. will still be using energy to power those functions. If you had 10 appliances in your home using only 1 watt per day of phantom energy (i.e. while their turned off), and each unit cost 20 cents, that would equate to $730.00 over a whole year. Even if it only cost 10 cents per unit (doubtful in Australia), you’d be saving a dollar every day. You can read a more detailed explanation with facts and figures at: [http://gogreeninyourhome.com/how-to-save-electricity/appliances-still-use-power-when-turned-off/]. So the best way you can save money is by switching off at the wall, and if you want to get really serious about it, pull the plug out of the wall too – that way you can be 100% sure your appliance is not using any electricity. Saving money is great, but saving energy is even better for the environment, particularly if your energy source comes from fossil fuels.