Silent Thieves, Phantom Loads

Phantom loads are also known as vampire loads or standby power. The are silent thieves that are robbing our wallets and polluting or environment by drawing electrical power from the grid even when they have been turned off. Here are some ways to reduce phantom loads.

Chances are your home has a few of these vampire loads.

Phantom loads are everywhere and there are more kinds of devices now that use energy when "off" than ever before. This is because many modern electronic devices, such as TV's and stereos, are really on, but sleeping, listening for a signal from a remote control to wake up and turn fully on. The act of being on standby, where capacitors are filled with energy and ready to turn on the TV, etc, can use almost as much energy as being fully on.

One example that I found in my own home was my satellite TV box. In the on position is uses sixty watts. In the off position is consumes forty watts. I verified this with a device called a Kill A Watt that monitors how much power each device in your home uses.

There are other phantom loads that you would never expect. I found that my blender, of all things, continued to draw fifteen watts in the off position. I have no idea why but the Kill A Watt doesn't lie.

Power Strips And Smart Strips Help Eliminate Phantom Loads

It might seem old fashioned to get up out of your chair to turn on the TV, but there is no excuse for letting it draw as much as a light bulb twenty four hours a day. In addition to the money that is being sucked out of your wallet, the phantom loads in your home are causing more power to have to be generated and therefore more CO2 and pollution in the atmosphere.

The best way to get rid of phantom loads is to place them on a power strip with a simple off button.

For computer peripherals a smart power strip is a great way to save energy and eliminate vampire loads. It senses when the computer is on and shuts off things like printers when it is not.

There are also some new power strips that have a motion sensor and sense if someone is in the room or not. These are great for devices like computers and printers. Get a power use monitor and find the phantom loads in your home, then put them on a power strip. You will notice a difference on your utility bill at the end of the month.

Other Energy Savers

Once you have eliminated the phantom loads in your home, look for other energy wasters. Things like garden fountains don't need to be left on twenty four hours a day. Consider putting them on a motion switch so that they are on only part of the time, or just when you enter the garden.

Switch out your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents. CF bulbs now come in different shades of light and provide the same quality of reading light as incandescent bulbs. Initially they take a few seconds longer to achieve full brightness but you become used to this. You can save about seven percent on your utility bill by switching to CF bulbs.