Are My Appliances Using Energy When They Are Off?

The short answer is yes. The average north American home is believed to waste at least 50 Watts of electricity constantly, even when appliances like tv’s and computers are turned off. This equals about 450 kilowatt hours per year. “Wasting electricity” and “phantom loads” cost us all, and in the end it costs the environment.

Most power supplies waste 20 to 30 percent of the energy they draw. As it would go, the majority of this loss is in the form of heat. As an example, feel some of your appliances for warmth or heat. Unless it is a heater, all of that warmth is lost or wasted energy. With that said, feel some of your appliances and the like when they are turned “off”. The heat that you feel when these items are not in use is a direct loss of energy, at the cost of your electricity bill as well as at the cost of the environment through wasted energty. Wherever possible, unplug these appliances when they are not in use!

Some of the main causes of phantom loads are:

computers

cell phone chargers

bread makers

microwaves

cd players, receivers, etc

laptops

answering machines

modems

routers

televisions

vcrs

dvd players

There are many many more, this list is simply the most commonly found items in the average household.