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This might explain why your electricity bill is so high

You're wasting electricity and money. Here's how to save on both.

Alina Bradford CNET Contributor
Alina Bradford has been writing how-tos, tech articles and more for almost two decades. She currently writes for CNET's Smart Home Section, MTVNews' tech section and for Live Science's reference section. Follow her on Twitter.
Alina Bradford
3 min read
Colin West McDonald/CNET

Even when you turn off your electronics, they could still be wasting electricity. When you press the off switch, many electronics -- like televisions, DVRs and satellite boxes-- go into standby mode.

The Pivot Power Genius

Colin West McDonald/CNET

During standby mode, electronics don't turn off completely. They perform updates, record your favorite shows and generally just wait for you to come back, sucking up energy as they do. This is called standby power or phantom load. The energy lost is called vampire energy or leaking energy.

According to the US Department of Energy, your electricity wasters account for 10 percent or more of your electricity bill.

It would explain how my colleague Jason Cipriani ended up saving $840 per year on his electricity bill.

Televisions, DVRs and satellite boxes aren't the only energy users. Chances are, you have several chargers around your home and they stay plugged in 24/7. Phone chargers use around 0.26 watts when plugged in, but not in use. A laptop charger also wastes energy, using 4.42 kWh when not in use and 29.48 kWh with a fully charged laptop plugged into it. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has a full list of gadgets and how much energy they waste, here.

Test your home for excess energy usage

Want to see if your home is affected by leaking energy? Turn off your AC or heating unit and your hot water heater. Now, turn off everything in your home, but leave it all plugged in.

Then, go look at the electric meter box that's typically located on the side of your home. Are the numbers still going up? If they are, that means that your devices are still sucking electricity.

Another, more straightforward approach is to use a plug-in device like the Kill-A-Watt or the Belkin WeMo Insight Switch that measures energy usage.

Duke Energy also has a nifty calculator that can help you see just how much your devices and appliances may be wasting... without getting out of your chair.

How to kill vampire waste

The most obvious way to stop energy leaks is by unplugging everything when you aren't using it. But this can be a huge pain, especially when you use various items throughout the day or the outlets are behind heavy furniture.

One way to make things a little easier is by using power strips. Whenever you aren't using your devices, flip the switch on the power strip to cut off all power to your devices so that they can't go into standby. Some power strips even come with remotes so you can shut off power from across the room, like the Conserve Switch AV Surge Protector or the Uninex Surge Protector

Smart power strips take this idea a step further. They have outlets that are meant for different types of devices. Some of the outlets are designated for items that need to stay on all the time, like your DVR. Other outlets are for items that go into standby mode or use energy, but don't need to be on. When you shut off a device or disconnect your device from its charger, the power strip senses it and will shut off all power to the device.

Another option is programmable outlets, like the Belkin WeMo Insight Switch and Quirky Pivot Power Genius. These plug into your regular outlet and have an app you can use to schedule your devices to shut off remotely.

Replace energy-hogging appliances

In some cases you might decide that replacing a device or appliance is the best solution. For instance, Jason found that his old secondary refrigerator cost him $40 per month, enough to justify a more energy-efficient replacement.

Should you replace your appliances? Here are some articles that can help you decide:

Editors' note: This article was published on June 6, 2016, and has been updated.

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