Vampire power, also known as phantom load, is the electricity that electronics and appliances use while they are turned off or in standby mode.  While it may seem like just a small nibble in your home energy consumption, vampire power quickly adds up to be a significant drain nationally on energy resources.

Standby power is beneficial when used in remote controls, clock displays, and timers. But too often it’s simply wasted because cell phone chargers, iPod chargers, power adapters and other devices not being used are left plugged in.
According to Energy Star, the amount of energy used by products when they are in standby mode is significant. The average U.S. household spends $100 per year to power devices while they are off (or in standby mode). On a national basis, standby power accounts for more than 100 billion kilowatt hours of annual U.S. electricity consumption and more than $10 billion in annual energy costs.

The Energy Star Web site lists these tips for ridding your home of energy spooks:

• Look for ENERGY STAR when shopping. All ENERGY STAR qualified products are among the lowest power consuming in their category in standby mode.
• Enable the ENERGY STAR power management settings on your computer and monitor, so they go into power save mode when not in use.
• Use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are done using equipment, which completely disconnects the power supply. You can use one for your computer and all peripheral equipment, and another for your home electronics (TV, VCR, DVD, stereo, gaming). Keep in mind though that if you’ve set a timer to wake up a product, such as programming a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) to record a program, then the product must remain plugged in (and able to draw standby power) to function as intended.
• Unplug your chargers: cell phone chargers, camera chargers, battery chargers or power adapters, etc. These are drawing some amount of energy even when not in use (and even when not connected to an end-use product).

Related links
National Vampire Awareness Day 2008
Vampire power explained
Surge protectors

Need help finding energy savings in your home? Step into the House of Savings and reduce your energy bill.

The House of Savings is a new interactive feature on Chelan County PUD’s Conservation Web page. Place your mouse over a feature in the house and a pop-up box provides tips on saving energy and money. Hover over the thermostat, for example, and you’ll learn that for every degree you set your thermostat lower (or higher for summer cooling) you can reduce your power bill by 2 percent. The items also contain links to related information.

The house is a collaborative effort of  technology, graphics and conservation staff at the PUD. Come on in!

Replacing your old refrigerator with a new, energy-efficient model can save money on electric bills. But what to do with the old fridge?

Most appliance stores will take away your old refrigerator for free when they deliver a new one purchased from their store. Some also will “decommission” old refrigerators for customers, but for a fee. John Schons, appliance technician at Sav-Mart in Wenatchee, said the refrigerant and compressor oil are removed by technicians and recycled, and the refrigerator is hauled away to a scrap metal dealer.

For $20, Vic’s Fix-it Shop in East Wenatchee will pick up your old refrigerator, refurbish it, and re-sell it. Shop co-owner Jessie Blair says they won’t take refrigerators that are yellow, green or have rounded corners – the telltale signs of advanced age. Those are destined for the scrap heap or the dump, er, transfer station (see below).

Chelan County’s Dryden Transfer Station accepts refrigerators and other appliances. For an appliance that contains or once contained Freon the charge is $17. The transfer station is located one mile east of the Big Y (Highway 2 and 97) intersection. The turnoff can only be accessed by traffic heading east.

The Department of Energy’s ENERGY STAR Recycle My Old Fridge Campaign sponsors a contest for the best cool works of art made from old refrigerators. Click here to see photos from the art exhibition held in August in Washington, D.C.

By the way: Modern refrigerators usually use a refrigerant called HFC-134a which, unlike Freon, has no ozone-layer depleting properties.

Tip: You can calculate how much you’d save in energy costs if you replaced your refrigerator here. When the calculator asks what you pay for electricity, type in 0.029 (a bargain-basement 2.9 cents per kilowatt hour).

That big new HDTV in your living room may be costing you more than just your monthly payments. Many of the new big-screen TVs consume plenty of power.

It’s a problem that’s beginning to get some attention. California regulators are drafting rules that would require retailers to sell only energy-efficient flat-screen TVs. According to the Los Angeles Times, during a peak viewing time when most sets are on, such as the Super Bowl, TVs in California collectively suck up the equivalent of 40 percent of the power generated by the San Onofre nuclear power station running at full capacity. Televisions account for about 10% of the average Californian’s monthly household electricity bill.

Just how much does it cost to operate a flat-screen TV? That depends on the type of TV. The electronics Web site CNET tested 139 TVs, rating them by watts used per square inch as well as overall costs. Applying Chelan County PUD power rates to CNET’s calculations, energy costs would range from a low of $7.86 per year to run a Philips 42-inch LCD model to $52.53 per year to power a 58-inch plasma-screen Panasonic. (CNET used the annual average cost of 10 cents per kilowatt hour for its calculations; Chelan County PUD’s cost is 2.9 cents per kilowatt hour).

Depending on the technology behind the TV, energy costs can vary dramatically. Standard sets use a cathode ray tube, with those smaller than 40 inches drawing roughly 73 watts when on. An average flat-screen LCD TV of the same size also uses 70 watts, while a similar plasma TV consumes an average 246 watts.

If you’re still shopping for a new set, or just curious about your power use, you can calculate your costs using this formula:

Wattage X Hours Used / 1,000 = Kilowatt Hours (KWH)

Then multiply the kilowatt hours used times the cost of power (the average cost for Chelan PUD customers is 2.9 cents per kilowatt hour).

Blue Energy Star labels began appearing in November on all TVs that use less energy when turned on. Before November, Energy Star labels only indicated how efficient a set was when it was turned off.

You can stop your TV from drawing any power at all by unplugging it, or by plugging it into a power strip that can be switched off.

Related links
How Much Do Your Appliances Cost to Operate? (Chelan PUD brochure)