You've likely heard about energy vampires -- the appliances, devices and other electronics that draw electricity even when powered off. Called standby power, this leech can be a significant expense: According to the US Department of Energy, standby power accounts for 5% to 10% of residential energy usage and can cost a typical household about $100 per year.
With that in mind, I decided to launch an experiment. I ordered a $12 power meter from Amazon and set about gauging the passive power draw of nearly every device and appliance I could plug into it. My mission: to determine which one wastes the most energy while off, and whether it's worth unplugging the worst offenders. The clear winner surprised me because it was an unexpected piece of living-room tech.
How I tested for vampire energy drain
There were a few limitations to the project, the most notable being that I couldn't test my washer, dryer or oven. Those appliances use large 240-volt outlets, and the power meter I bought only works with standard NEMA 5-15R outlets. I also wasn't able to properly test my fridge, because there's no way to power it down while it's plugged in.
That said, I did test virtually every other device in my house that could be turned off or put into a sleep or standby mode. I went through each room in my house and tested every appliance or device in it, including the exterior LED light strips I recently installed.
Common household energy vampires
I decided to test and catalog my results on a room-by-room basis. All told, I ended up testing tech in my home office, living room, kitchen, bedroom and the light strips outside. This is what I found.
The energy meter only works with AC outlets, so I wasn't able to test 240-volt appliances, like washers and dryers. Alan Bradley/CNET
Home office
Let's start with the lair of some of the most prominent suspects on my list: my home office. I do the vast majority of my work and spend a fair amount of my downtime there, and I've got a pretty energy-intensive setup that includes my desktop PC, laptop, a 60-inch TCL television, alongside an 18-inch monitor.
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