GoKawiilMost of us assume that switching something off means it stops using power. It doesn't. Appliances, devices and home electronics continue using electricity in standby mode -- and according to the US Department of Energy, that sneaky power draw costs the average household roughly $100 a year.
Your home is harboring energy vampires in nearly every room -- and they're quietly draining your wallet. To find the worst in my home, I ordered a $12 power meter from Amazon and tested the passive power draw of nearly every device and appliance I could -- 18 in total.
The goal? Find which of them wastes the most energy when off and whether it's worth unplugging the worst offenders when not in use. The winner (worst offender) shocked me; an unassuming piece of TV tech that nearly every home has.
How I tested to find energy vampires
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
Home office
... continue reading