As Halloween approaches, are energy vampires attacking your home? Appliances that drain energy even when they’re not in use, like computers, televisions, microwaves, and space heaters, can use almost 10% of your energy consumption. You can save a couple hundred dollars a year by slaying these energy vampires this spooky season.

Identify Your Vampires

It’s time to hunt! Look around your home and identify major appliances that are plugged in but aren’t being used. Energy vampire indicators include devices that are powered by a remote control, that have a continuous LED display, or that have a cord with a “brick” box.

Unplug Devices

How do you slay these vampires? It’s simple: Unplug your devices, such as your toaster and your laptop, after you finish using them. And be sure to unplug everything you can before you go away on vacation.

Turn Off Devices

If you can’t unplug your devices, turn them off or use sleep and power-saving modes. When you sleep, so should your appliances.

Use a Power Strip

If you’ve grown tired of slaying vampires one at time, take advantage of the master slayer — a power strip. Power strips with an on/off switch make it possible to control the energy usage of multiple devices at once. Simply flip the switch to off when you aren’t using the devices and you’ll be on your way to energy savings.

Give Your Home an Efficiency Upgrade

Upgrade to energy-efficient devices that limit the amount of power being drained. Qualifying homeowners and renters in MCE’s service area can receive no-cost energy-saving appliances and a virtual home energy assessment. Learn more about energy savings and complete an interest form.

Blog by Sarah Dillemuth