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Topics: Electricity |
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| Reduce Vampire Energy and Save Money |
Submitted by:
leigh67 01/30/2009 11:34 AM
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I have been hearing a lot about vampire energy lately. Basically the concept that even though your electronics, lights, appliances, clocks, charges etc. are turned off they are still actually consuming small amounts of electricity, that can really add up on your utility bill. For modern convenience manufacturers hve built in 'stand by' modes so that when we turn off the tv the bulk power is turned off, but it goes into standby mode so that when you want to turn the tv back on you don't have to wait for it to warm up like in the old days, it just turns right on.
This vampire power concept really hit home when I turned the light off in my home office and saw about a dozen little green and red led lights lit up. It was like Christmas in my office. Clearly even though everything in the office was 'turned off' it was not completely turned off. I realized that I must be wasting a lot of energy while my chargers, printers, power supplies, and monitors were turned off.
Since all of my computer components are plugged into a power strip, including the internet modem (which can never be completely turned off because there is usually always someone online in my house) I couldn't just switch off the power strip when I left the room. I needed another option.
 So, I did some web searching and found the solution; the Belkin Conserve Surge Protector. It is a clever little device. It has 2 'always on' outlets, that's where I plug in my modems, and 6 outlets that you can turn off with a wireless remote control switch that I leave by the door and just switch off on my way out. Another cool feature, there are holes on the back so you can hang it on the wall, which is great because mine is right under my desk and I am constantly kicking it.
I got my belkin at Newegg.com it was on sale for $29.99 (plus $8.95 shipping) with a $15 mail in rebate. A small price to pay for a product that claims to cut up to $50 off my energy bill each year. So it will pay for itself in less than a year. There is something comforting to that fact that when I leave the office, I know everything is turned off and energy consumption is being reduced.
Next I want to get one of these for my tv/dvr/dvd/stereo set up.
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