How Much Does Unplugging Appliances Really Save ?
Posted: June 7th, 2010 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Saving | Tags: energy bill, energy costs, energy vampires, Saving Money, Tips | No Comments »
Are energy vampires really worth the time to kill?
Back when energy prices were headed skyward in 2008, it was common to see articles recommending that you unplug appliances when not in use . Often times these articles referred to electronic devices that creatively called “energy vampires.”
The term energy vampire certainly paints a picture with a direct message, but is there really any truth to the idea or is it just sensational for the sake of being sensational?
Or maybe it’s groupthink?
I don’t know. All I know is it made sense to me at the time, and then the save money by saving energy stories dissipated as bigger stories took precedence – i.e. The “Great Recession”. But I recently heard a heavy dose of promos for a nightly news “in-depth investigation” on the topic that got me wondering again…
At first I thought it odd that the local news station was doing a story on it at this time when energy prices are still much lower than 2008 levels, but then I got wondering if there was any truth to the belief that devices like VCRs and televisions really cost that much money staying plugged in when not in use.
I pursued a similar question a few years back when I wondered if LED Christmas Lights Are Really more Cost Effective? This time though, I’m busy. I don’t feel like doing the math, and quite frankly I don’t have the time.
So I did some googling and found that Cecil Adams was nice enough to have done it for me at The Straight Dope. Thanks Cecil! 
The crux of the issue lies in the fact that the real energy hogs are the ones you can’t unplug between uses, like your refrigerator. So most people focus on computers, DVD payers, televisions and VCRs. And Cecil shows that those devices use something on the order of $10 a year.
Is that really worth all the plugging and unplugging? Not to me it isn’t.
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