Phantom Electricity

It’s October! The time of year we pull out the ghosts, zombies and creepy paraphernalia we've collected over the years to decorate our houses. But, did you know that there are spooky beings lurking in our houses all year long?  Yes, it is true! We all have phantoms, ghosts and even vampires living amongst us at all times. But, don’t fear, we can get rid of them quickly.  No, I’m not talking about the creepy creatures we see in Science Fiction shows.  The “phantoms” also known as “vampire load” or “ghost current” are the energy being consumed by our gadgets plugged in to wall sockets when not in use. We’re all guilty of grabbing our phones and cameras off the chargers and running out the door, leaving the chargers plugged in the wall. These plugged in chargers continue to suck electricity off the grid and omit energy even though their gadgets were removed.  This phantom energy is estimated to utilize approximately 10% of an individual home’s electricity use.  Pulling the plugs on your gadgets could save you the equivalent of one electricity bill a year. Now that would make a difference to the pocket book!  Another way to combat the phantoms is to plug all the household gadgets into a power strip with an on/off switch.  Simply turn off the strip once the gadgets are charged and you've saved electricity, money and kicked the phantoms out the house!

For other information to alleviate the phantoms from your life:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/energyandutilities/qt/Have_Phantoms.htm
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-one-hour-project-kill-the-electricity-phantom/
http://www.mnenergysmart.com/how-much-phantom-energy-do-your-electronics-use/

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