Phantom Electrical Loads are loss electricity usage that account for up to 15% of your electricity consumption. This
loss comes from a variety of electronics in a variety of ways. Anything from an outdated refrigerator to a
rechargeable toothbrush are drawing unneeded kilowatt hours and adding dollars to your electricity bill.
The
typical house with two TVs, one VCR, one DVD and a cable box will
waste approximately 525 KWh/ year. Of this, a significant amount
is spent when you are not actually even using your appliances. The
average phantom load a TV is responsible for is 23 per cent of its
total energy output. The VCR's phantom load accounts for 54 per cent
of its total electricity usage. When you add up the cost of the various
flashing lights, digital clocks on answering machines, phones, fax
machines, electric toothbrushes, computers, printers, modems, routers,
scanners and kitchen appliances, you realize just how much this unseen
load racks up on your electric bill. As a prime example, if you use
your microwave for less than seven minutes a day, the digital clock
will drain more energy during the year than the microwave oven itself.
The trouble is, when you switch something 'off', you haven't cut
the current of energy running to it. Beginning in the 1970s, manufacturers
began making home electronics that went into a sort of 'sleep' mode
when the user turned 'off' so that they would be instantly ready
to serve their purpose when the user turned them back on again. This
tiny output of energy can reach between 20 and 100 dollars annually.
Take a look at the outlets in your home. How many chords do you see
leading to an appliance you really don't use very often at all? Just
unplug it for now, and hook it up again when the time comes that
it will be useful. Consider setting up regularly used appliances
in a central location, where they can be connected to a power bar
and easily switched off and on as needed. Your home entertainment
system or computer areas are ideal spots for a power bar. Before
you go to bed and when you go on vacation, unplugging your home's
devices is an option which will save electricity and money.
You may consider replacing old models with new Energy Star certified
appliances, as the efficiency has improved on a few home fixtures,
such as new VCR and DVD players, which use much less energy in stand-by
than a 10 year old counterpart.
