Okay, so the Halloween connection is about as hokey as it gets. In fact, I can almost feel myself gagging.
But what the heck: Vampire power sucks, as they say, and any time something comes along to help people kick the habit of keeping all those power-draining devices plugged in, I’m for it.
So welcome to a new website: www.VampirePowerSucks.com, which is the brainchild of iGo, a company that develops eco-friendly chargers and power management systems.
The problem is that in most homes, even when you think an electronic device is turned off, it’s probably not. In reality, it’s little electronic brain may still be humming along. It’s still remembering settings, noting the date, at the ready for an internet connection, ever on the alert for a signal from the remote.
Researchers say that the typical house has three dozen appliances that never really shut down. Want to explore? Look for anything with a little red light. That’s the first clue. Look for anything with a touch pad, a digital display, a remote control.
Some are just teeny drains. Like a cell phone charger. (Even if the phone isn't plugged in, it's drawing power.) Others are real power hogs, the Humvees of household suckers. According to Alan Meier, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory energy analyst who was one of the first to take the issue seriously, some of the new cable and satellite boxes draw 40 watts when “off” — about half of what an entire refrigerator draws. The cost at current PECO rates would be upwards of $50 a year.
I wrote about Meier and the issue over a year ago, but the points still stand. Click here to read the story.
For those who want to explore their own hidden power hogs, the VampirePowerSucks website has an interactive graphic where you can find your devices on a list, “drag” them into a virtual home and see what you wind up with.
Or, you could get a Kill-a-Watt meter, which you plug into an outlet, then plug the device in question into the meter, and it reads out the power draw.
Or, you could simply be conscientious: Go around and unplug everything that you can think of.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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