It’s Coming from Inside the House: Saving on Your Electric Bill

Whether you rent or own, you’ve probably been worried at one point or another about the cost of powering your home. Scrambling to turn off lights and power down electronics, you rush to lower your energy consumption in a bid to stave off a monster electric bill next month. But there might just be a hidden horror lurking inside your own residence.

Your appliances, if left plugged in 24/7, may be conspiring to send your electricity costs to terrifying levels, even when they’re turned off. When left plugged in constantly, some appliances still continue to draw energy at relatively high levels. Energy efficiency experts estimate these “vampire” appliances can cost the average household around $200 per year.

Here are some ways to avoid getting sucked dry:

Regularly unplug the worst offenders
Audio equipment, computers, gaming systems, printers, scanners and TVs can use power while turned off and as such, are good candidates to be unplugged when not in use.

Use a power strip
Plugging in and unplugging several different appliances each and every day can be a hassle, so to make it easier, consolidate as many electronics as possible on power strips with on/off switches.

Don’t over-charge
Familiarize yourself with how long it takes your laptop, cell phone, tablet, e-reader, or other electronic devices to charge. Once they’re fully charged, unplug them and turn them off so you avoid unnecessary pulling of electricity. Try to charge these devices in the evening, before you go to bed, so you don’t have to leave them plugged in all night while you sleep.

Get smarter electronics
More and more gadgets are being made to “realize” when they don’t need to be drawing electricity anymore. When buying electronics, chargers or power strips, look for ones that shut off automatically after a certain amount of time not in use.

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