Halloween is approaching, and while you may see trick-or-treaters roaming streets dressed as ghosts, monsters, or zombies, there could be a real monster called energy vampires living inside your home.
Energy vampires are electronics and appliances in your home – like TVs, home computers, and cell phone chargers – that continue to draw power when they’re turned off or idle. So even if you’re not using the device, it is still using energy. This energy is sometimes called “standby power.”
Energy vampires can amount to 10% of homeowners’ energy bills, and during the holiday season, homeowners can see an even higher increase.
To help you combat the energy-sucking monsters, here are some tips to fight off the number of energy vampires in your household:
- Use a power strip – Using a power strip allows multiple power sources to be plugged into one location and makes it easier to power those sources off all at once. There are also smart strips that will shut off products not in use automatically.
- Unplug products not in use – Items such as television sets, printers or gaming consoles are just a few things that still use power when not in use. Find out which items still use energy when not in use and leave them unplugged when they’re not needed.
- Energy-efficient products – Look into buying products that use less energy than other items. ENERGY STAR © certified products are some of the least power-consuming products and are great for any home.
- Utilize sleep mode – Sleep mode is a feature in many electronics that allows for less electricity use while the product is not in use.
- DTE Insight App – The DTE Insight app helps you understand, manage and control the energy in your home. You can use your app store to download the Insight app today.
For more information on how to save energy in your home, visit dteenergy.com/saveenergy