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As we mentioned in Part I of this miniseries on phantom power, many gadgets, electronic devices and appliances draw power even when they're switched off or not in use, just by being plugged in. It might seem not worth worrying about, but it can add up to about 10 percent of you home's energy use, or about one month of your electricity use each year.
Luckily, in addition to the tips we offered before, there are a handful of mini-appliances and gadgets that can help you determine which of your electronics are drawing the most phantom power, and keep them from sucking down electricity when you aren't using them.
1. Test out your appliances with a Kill-A-Watt: Hook this handy energy meter, pictured above, up to high-draw appliances like your television, computer and stereo (and the rest of your electronics-cell-phone charger, gaming systems, etc.) and it'll tell you which appliances are sucking down the most power when they're off. Once you've tested everything, you know which electronics need to be attended to when they aren't in use.
2. Invest in a "smart" power strip: Plugging a handful of phantom power-drawing appliances (think your TV, stereo, DVD player and gaming system) into a Wattstopper or Smart Strip Power Strip are intelligent enough to cut the phantom power to your electronics when they're not in use.3. Pick up the Mini Power Minder for your computer: Computers and their peripherals-including things like monitors, printers, speakers, laptop docking stations, external hard drives, and more-are notorious for their voracious phantom power appetite, but this Minder has the smarts to know when you shut down your computer, and will cut the cord to everything else at the same time, insuring that no juice is lost to the computer speakers you accidentally leave on all night, all the time.
4. Bonus tip: Consider installing GreenSwitch and pull the plug on vampire power for good: With the flick of a switch, you can turn off all the electronics in your home that aren't being used, effectively cutting off all standby power from your TV, stereo, lights, and other devices that draw power whether or not they're actually switched on, saving you between 25 percent and 45 percent on your home's energy use.
Difficulty level: Easy
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