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So I’ve been going around my house and finding things that I can either unplug or rearrange to cut back on even more “vampire” charges.  Let’s say you turn your television off, in theory it stops using energy, right? Unfortunately not.  Many televisions these days will have a little light at the On/Off switch that glows when the television is off, and that little light take energy. 

When I was in the guest bedroom the other day, I looked at the clock to see what time it was.  Then I wondered why I had a clock in there and on all the time, when majority of the time no one goes in there.  So I unplugged it.  Next time I have a guest come over, I’ll plug it back in but there is no sense in having it plugged in now.

I also rearranged how all my computer equipment is plugged in. I now have all my peripherals plugged into one power strip on the floor (conveniently located so my toe can easily switch it on and off).  If I’m at my computer and need something, like sound, I’ll turn on the power strip.  Otherwise everything is off and not even allowed power because of the power strip.

My next really cool thing I want to put in place involves getting a neat new toy.  This happens to be a new kind of power strip.  This power strip has one (or perhaps two) plugs that are always on.  The rest of the plugs detect if that main plug has a device plugged in and on.   This is being marketed mostly involving computers.  So you would plug in your computer to the always on plug and the rest of your accessories for your computer into the rest of the plugs and the power strip would turn off the rest of the power strip when your computer was turned off.  Pretty cool stuff.  I actually don’t want it for my computer though.  I want it for my television.  Plug the television into the main plug and the DVD player, WII, Playstation, and all the other stuff into the rest of the plugs.  I won’t ever need to have my DVD player on if my television isn’t on.  So why have it suck energy just to be off all the time.

I’ve found two manufacturers of this style of power strip.  One is by a company called WattStopper and the other is by Smart Strip (which you can also buy at Amazon).

Have you ever paid attention to the lights and electronics you leave on?  Lately I’ve made myself much more aware when I leave things on and plugged in.  When you add up several of these items, it can really add up.

Simple things like making sure you turn a light off when you leave a room.  I am notorious for leaving the kitchen light on during dinner, even though we usually eat in the dining room or living room.  This is only because I usually have my hands full with plates the last time I pass the light switch.  Once I became aware of all the lights I was leaving on, I started to make sure I turn them off.

I also watch to make sure I unplug things.  I will often take my laptop to the living room to work on my blog (or whatever research I’m doing online).  Usually I won’t bother to plug it and just run on the battery.  Sometimes the battery is low though, so I have to plug it in.  The problem comes in when I’m done.  I will shut down my computer and move it back to the office, not bothering to move the cord right then.  If you’ve ever noticed, there is a little light (mine happens to be green) on the battery charger.  This green light stays on whenever it is plugged into the wall, whether it is plugged into the computer or not.  So that battery charger is actually sucking power, even though it isn’t charging anything.  This is true with any device (like a television) where even though the device is turned off, just because that light is on, it is still using energy.

I’ve been doing this since I started blogging back in January and I’ve actually seen a $10 decrease in my electric bill. Wow!  By simply being more aware, I’m saving energy and money.  I’m still looking out for things that can be unplugged, so stay tuned to see other ways I’ve cut down my energy consumption.