Smart Power StripReduces Home Energy Bills

The typical American home has 40 products constantly drawing power, and those products — when not in use — represent 10 percent of residential energy consumption, reported energy experts at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the University of California.

These "Vampire'' or "Phantom'' loads — is the standby electrical power that televisions, microwaves, computers and other appliances draw while plugged in unless fully switched off.


Treehugger Tv's ghoulish look at “vampire” loads.

"Any gadget you can turn on that goes into full-power mode immediately takes idling energy to initiate, and you'll pay the price. It guarantees you'll have a vampire presence," said Tom Reddoch, executive director of energy utilization for the Electric Power Research Institute, a non-profit funded by the electric utility industry that conducts research on key issues facing the power industry. "We're the fast-food generation. We want everything now."

Smart Power Strip
So if you have an insatiable appetite for possessing the next best, newest, electronic appliance, gadget or device no trouble. Experts advocate the use of a smart strip energy saving power strip to help you shave dollars of your energy bill, while prolonging the life of your appliances.

A smart power strip is essentially a “smart” home surge protector that automatically turns off power to all devices plugged into it when it senses they aren't in use. There are various types of energy-saving power strips, as an example, some power strips automatically switches devices on and off and uses less than one watt of power when fully energized, and reduces the wattage even more — less than 1/4 of a watt — when the automatically switched outlets are off.

There are smart power strip models specifically for powring computer equipment and peripherals like monitors, speakers, and cell chargers that when programmed automatically shut everything off when your computer falls into standby mode. Excellent for when you turn your computer off at the end of the day.

Initially, the cost of a smart power strip may be a turn off, but consider, along with surge protection for your appliances and devices you'll be increasing its life usage, while saving so much more on your energy bill over its lifetime.

Here are some more tips on how to reduce your home energy bill.