What are Vampire Appliances?

Vampire appliances are appliances which continue to suck energy even they are turned off, because they enter a standby mode rather than fully powering down. The term is also used more generally to refer to energy-hungry appliances. Many people have a number of vampire appliances in their homes, and these appliances can drive energy bills up significantly. Advocacy organizations hope that by getting the word about vampire appliances out, they can encourage consumers to take measures to reduce their energy usage. Common examples of vampire appliances include some televisions and DVD players, heaters, computers, and “instant-on†devices which can be powered up with the touch of a button. If you have appliances which are operated remotely, they could also be considered vampire appliances. Likewise with timed devices, alarms, garage doors, and so forth. Any sort of device which has a standby mode will use power as long as it is in standby. The cost to run a vampire appliance varies. In ...  more

Vampire appliances are appliances which continue to suck energy even they are turned off, because they enter a standby mode rather than fully powering down. The term is also used more generally to refer to energy-hungry appliances. Many people have a number of vampire appliances in their homes, and these appliances can drive energy bills up significantly. Advocacy organizations hope that by getting the word about vampire appliances out, they can encourage consumers to take measures to reduce their energy usage. Common examples of vampire appliances include some televisions and DVD players, heaters, computers, and “instant-on” devices which can be powered up with the touch of a button. If you have appliances which are operated remotely, they could also be considered vampire appliances. Likewise with timed devices, alarms, garage doors, and so forth. Any sort of device which has a standby mode will use power as long as it is in standby. The cost to run a vampire appliance varies. In ...  more