Do the electrical vampires we all have really use that much electricity?

Yes, you should be concerned. “Studies show that standby consumption is 10–15% of total household electricity consumption. The newer the appliance, the better the chance it harbors a vampire load to operate its convenience features. The individual vampire loads range from a fraction of a watt to over 40 watts, so you are likely to find your appliances account for 10% of your total electric bill when switched to “off”.”

Biggest offenders: “Receivers, DVR’s and converter boxes used by cable and satellite TV systems have large vampire loads. The loads range between 10 and 48 watts when switched to the “off” position. Mini audio systems average 8 watts and go up to 24. Powered subwoofers average 10 and may include no “off” switch of any kind.”

Computers: “For example, computers have a “sleep” mode and an “off” mode. Both draw smaller amounts of vampire current, with the “off” mode typically drawing the least. Computers in their “off” position, draw up to 9 watts. A few still include a true off switch. Computers in “sleep” mode range between 1 and 83 watts, with 21 watts being typical. Many other electronics also have three levels of power draw. For example, a printer may draw six watts when switched “off”, twelve watts when switched on without operating, and twenty watts when printing.”

“Recently-manufactured
washers, dryers, and dishwashers, including the Energy Star rated models, have vampire loads ranging as high as 5 watts. There seems to be no contemporary model that truly shuts off at the end of its cycles, and many do not include a manual “off” switch, but some do.”

“In our testing we found that Verizon FIOS, for example, will cost you approximately 11
vampire watts for each FIOS component installed in your home.”

“The most obvious vampires, plug-in transformers like those used to charge batteries or to operate a cordless telephone or an answering machine, are modest offenders. They usually draw less than one watt when not charging or operating the appliance.”

Roanoke Valley Coll Cities Coalition

Yes… and no… here’s why.
Walk around your house and take note of all you have – 1 watt here, 1 watt there, 5 watts here, etc. Add them up and let’s say they come to 200 watts. I pay 12 cents per kWhr so in 5 hours, the vampires draw 1 kWhr costing me 12 cents or about 60 cent per day or $18 per month. Sounds bad, right?
Now comes the real cost calculation. Most electrical products fail when they are switched on and off. The electrical surges and thermal stresses of heating up and cooling are the primary factors in product failure.
Sure, you can save a few bucks by completely turning off power but then you should include the cost of replacing the unit when it fails prematurely.
Here is another cost factor that is often ignored. Let’s say you live in a hot climate that needs air conditioning all the time. The cost of the electricity should be considered at 3x the value. Why? Because you are running your air conditioner that much more to mike up for the heat the devices are making. Now we are talking real money.
On the other hand, if you live in a cold climate (like me) and pay to heat your home you will find it make no difference. Why? Because every watt the vampires steal from you they are expending to heat your room. None of it is wasted. Your heating system simply runs a few minutes less.
Paying $20 for a device that will automatically switch off 5 watts of vampire load 12 hours per day is not a wise investment nor use of the world’s resources. Let’s do the calculation and.pick a modest number for 6 wall chargers: 5 watts -> 200 hours per kWhr 12 hours per day -> 400 hours /kw hr -> 17 days per kWh or 12/17=$0.0072 per day or $2.62 per year. Actually is is 0 if you live in a cold place, $7.88 if you live in a hot place with A/C running all the time. All for the added advantage of stressing your electrical devices.

Sure we should all try to save. That is a good thing. Use a setback t-stat. Vent your dryer indoors if you can, insulate. Do things that really make a difference. Get rid of the extra freezer in the basement, or garage. Turn off the outside lights. Cold climate folks, put your Christmas lights inside the windows, not outside. Hot climate folks, put the lights on the outside of the house if you need them.

Ok I’ll get off my soap box now.

I can’t turn it off….
Want to make a difference? Don’t buy a house bigger than you need. In a few years an over-sized McMansion will make a statement only appreciated by dinosaurs.
Buy a car when you need it not because you think the one you have is out of style.
Replace an appliance because you need to, not because Martha decided the color is no longer in vogue.
Recycle. cans, bottles, glass, .plastic, paper
If you live in a cold climate and have a source of wood, heat with it as much as you can.
Don’t follow the latest trend and buy junk inspired by an “artist”. Today’s GaGa will be tomorrow’s GagGag. Don’t waste precious resources on it.
Here’s the biggest one- Pick a mate who believes in conservation and has the same values as you. Avoid the flashy, high maintenance ones. They are the true vampires, sucking blood, time and money as well as energy.
Think about it. You can make a difference.

OK… now I’m done!

Individually, these vampires make little difference, but the number of them can really add up to a substantial power draw.

That’s why I have my wall of electronics in my living room (TV, DVD, VCR, Xbox, Playstation, component stereo system, etc., etc.) powered by a heavy duty surge suppressor like that guy at your work. At night, I flick the switch and kill the power to all of it.

The same setup with my computer and related peripherals.

I find that replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL more than offsets the cumulative cost of those vampiric loads, so I gotta go with @LuckyGuy on this one. That is especially true since, as he pointed out, many of those loads are pretty touchy about power surges, and I don’t like replacing things.

I tried that for a couple months and saved about $2. I went totally CFL and saved ~$30.

Thanks. Looks like I will be figuring out how to shut these down when I am away from home and at night!