With inflated costs of everything, it's good to save where we can. Electrical Vampires are appliances and devices in the home/office that use massive amounts of electricity or suck 50 to 100 watts when they're not even being used. Turn off the lights and see what's glowing in the dark; they're, probably, your Electrical Vampires. Unveiling Your Vampires: When the sun goes down, close window curtains and turn off all lights. Then, being careful not to fall over anything, walk around the house and watch for glowing little lights on electronic gadgets and appliances. Those are the wallet-draining electrical vampires. I have effectively turned off all of those little energy-sucking LEDs glowing in the night from my gadgets and appliances when I'm not using them. My general method is to connect multiple devices, in the same room, to a multi-outlet power strip and plug the power strip into a wall outlet that is controlled by the main wall lightswitch to the room. When I leave the room, I turn off the lightswitch, effectively turning off the energy-sucking devices. There are other methods I use as well. Just find ways of completely removing the power from devices until they are actually needed. Keeping them plugged into the wall, with no control, was draining my wallet. When I leave my house, this is what remains running on AC power: 1 cordless telephone charger to keep the battery charged Refrigerator/Freezer 1 Electric Alarm Clock Here are some of my other energy-saving actions: When I'm away, I close window curtains (insulated) for better insulation from the summer heat or winter cold and close all interior doors to keep the core of my house warm in the winter or cool in the summer. I use this checklist to prepare my home before leaving for extended periods. I have a digital programmable thermostat to lower the house temperature when I'm away in the winter or sleeping at night or raise the temperature when I'm away in the summer. Keep in mind that raising the temperature can affect the refrigerator and lowering can affect the hot water heater. When I'm home, I still close the interior doors when I'm not in those rooms and I always turn off lights when I leave the room and turn off the television when I'm not actually watching a program. I have integrated a solar power system into my lifestyle, using 12-volt appliances and lighting (30-40 lumens). It's not the ideal solution for everything and not ultra pleasing to some eyes but I save a ton of money. Inside Lighting: I have been replacing my dying incandescent and CFL light bulbs with LED bulbs which use 84% less electricity to produce the same amount of light (lumens). Example: a 4 watt LED bulb produces the same lumens of light as a 25 watt incandescent bulb. Outside Lighting: Using solar security/safety (LED) lights instead of electric when possible. Ideally, the solar panel/collector should be facing South to achieve maximum battery charging but any ambient light, including artifical light, will charge a solar lighting unit battery or solar panel. Related Resources: Tips to Cut Your Electric Bill Affects of a Hot Water Heater on an Electric Bill Shop for a Cheaper Energy Price [Author's Reference Link]
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