Tired of spending all your money on electricity bills? Blame the energy vampires in your home. Those include things like appliances, devices and other electronics that continue to 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 that almost everyone has.
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 my house, testing every appliance and device, including the exterior LED light strips I recently installed.
Common household energy vampires
I decided to catalog my results room by room. 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
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