In these challenging economic times, a few dollars saved is a very good thing. So if you can save some green while being green, then it is a bonus. And there are lots of ways people can save green by being green. One way is to control the amount of energy that your household appliances use. Something that many people do not realize is that appliances use electricity even when they are shut off. Energy experts call these appliances vampires because they are plugged in to the wall socket sucking electricity all day and all night.
I came across this cool diagram today illustrating the common household vampires and how much energy and money they drain. If you want to find out how to make your home more energy-efficient, check out this website.
The best way I have found to save energy is by unplugging unused appliances and shutting off the power strips for the TV and its peripherals and the computer and its peripherals when not in use. There are power strips you can buy that turn off after a certain period of inactivity.
Always make sure to turn your computer off when not in use. This is one of the most overlooked energy vampires. People leave their computers on for hours on end, and some people never turn them off at all. And if your computer does not come with some form of power management capabilities, there is free power management software you can download. This will enable you to set your computer to shut off automatically after a specified period of inactivity.
I have Windows Vista on my laptop, and I set the power management settings for both when plugged in and when powered by the battery to shut the computer down after 10 minutes of inactivity. And it will shut off, but if I just stepped away for a bit, it takes mere seconds for my computer to "wake up." When done for the day, I simply shut it off and turn off my power strip.
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