co-op news
Watch out for vampire loads
T
his month, keep your
• Use power strips. Power strips
eye out as ghosts and
allow you to toggle the power
goblins emerge from
flow on and off. This will allow
their dark hiding places to roam
you to control the power use of
your neighborhood. They seek
several devices so they are not
sustenance (mostly in the form of
consuming electricity when you’re
fun-sized candy bars). But beware,
not around.
while you’re not watching, an actual terror may already be in your home, leeching off your energy supply!
• Curb idle time in devices, such as computers and video game consoles. Simply set
Unlike the creatures commonly
your computer to sleep mode or
associated with Halloween, these
save a game and power down,
“energy vampires” are all too real,
instead of leaving it paused.
and they are all around you. They
These practices can lead to
are running up your energy bill
considerable savings.
when you’re not even home. These vampires are wasteful, and they are costing the U.S. household an average of $100 per year — the horror! Here’s the good news: You don’t have to succumb to these wicked little energy suckers. Here are a few simple and inexpensive tips that will help you rid your home of these vampires for good. • Unplug devices you don’t use
6
OCTOBER 2018
• Phone charger (phone connected and charged): 2.24 watts • Desktop computer (off): 2.84 watts • Microwave (ready to use): 3.08 watts • Furnace: 4.21 watts
plugged in): 8.9 watts
replacing it with a new ENERGY
• Desktop computer (sleep
STAR appliance. Though none of these strategies will eliminate your electric bill entirely, together these tricks can help you slay energy vampires while saving money. And that’s a treat you can
has passed.
you use them.
• Clock radio: 2.01 watts
appliance to the grave, consider
you only use from time to time?
Unplug them until the next time
• DVD player (off): 1.55 watts
• Laptop (off, fully charged,
after Halloween
(there’s always next year)?
• Inkjet printer (off): 1.2 watts
it comes time to send your old
television, computer or stereo
now serves as a drying rack
• Game console (off): 1.01 watts
• CD player (off): 5.04 watts
appreciate long
for yourself last Christmas that
• Air conditioner: 0.9 watts
• Make smart upgrades. When
often. Do you have an extra
Perhaps that treadmill you bought
Average power consumption
mode): 21.13 watts • DVR (off): 36.68 watts