鬼魂. 吸血鬼. 幻影. Sounds like something out of a Scooby-Doo episode, right? But what if we told you that these supernatural beings were lurking in your home right now? Sure, you can call Ghostbusters, but it’s easy enough to take the problem into your own hands. 我们会教你怎么做.
Standby power goes by many names -- ghost power, 吸血鬼的力量, and phantom load to name a few -- but what is it, 完全? Standby power consumption is the term used to describe the electricity consumed by appliances and electronics that are turned off, 或者处于待机模式.
根据工业部的说法, 创新与科学, standby power consumption costs the average household around $100 per year.
Many electronic devices are working even when you’re not using them, 无论是给时钟还是显示器供电, 或者检查软件更新. The only real way to guarantee that a device is not consuming electricity is to unplug it.
抵挡幽灵
Before you mount an attack on your appliances and electronics, take a few moments to learn which items are responsible for the largest draw of standby electricity. It doesn’t make sense to unplug everything in your house as soon as you finish using it (and definitely not a good idea for things like refrigerators!), but some devices draw far more power than others.
You could google the amount of standby consumption that occurs with the following devices, but it's entirely based on your device and its manufactured year. The easiest way to see for yourself - or convince a household the value of changing habits - is by seeing your exact numbers.
这可能吗？? 它是! For roughly $15 or a trip to certain local libraries, you can get your hands on an 电al Meter Socket aka Power Meter Plug. From there it's as simple as plugging in devices and noting which electronics are your biggest drains.
Remote-Ready电子 & 电器
Anything powered by a remote control needs to stay alert for signals from that remote. 明显的罪魁祸首包括：
- 电视
- 游戏控制台
- 立体声，DVD，蓝光播放器
但是流媒体设备, 有线电视/卫星电视盒, and electric garage door openers draw 吸血鬼的力量 as well.
Non-Remote电子 & 电器
These sneaky systems aren’t powered by remote controls, but they still sap energy when not in use. There’s not much you can do about your cable modem, given how interconnected everything is these days, but take a look at the number of clocks in your home: are they there simply because they’ve always been there, 或者你现在真的依赖他们吗?
- 无线/有线电视调制解调器
- 无绳电话
- 时钟
- 微波(w /时钟)
不太明显的嫌疑
This group consists of appliances and electronics that may not come to mind initially -- many of them draw little to no standby power, 比如电动牙刷的充电器, but there are probably things on this list that are used infrequently and can therefore be unplugged. 例如，你的“空闲”台式电脑.
- 手机充电器
- 计算机液晶显示器
- 台式计算机（关闭或空转）
- 插入式笔记本电脑（未充电）
- 炉
- 空调
- 打印机
- 咖啡机
- 电子乐器
- 夜灯（关闭）
- 浪涌保护器
- 电动牙刷
- 剃须刀
高科技哄骗
A necklace made of garlic is not going to help this time around. But there are things you can do to take back wasted electricity. 以下是一些建议：
- Unplug the charger from the wall when the device reaches a full charge. If it’s warm to the touch, it’s converting the electricity to heat, which is wasted energy.
- Consider setting up a charging station in your home, where all the frequently used chargers are plugged into a single power strip. A “smart” power strip can cut the power to all of your devices with a single switch.
- Check your appliance manuals to see if there’s a “power save” mode that will turn off unnecessary displays when the device is not in use.
- 购买新电器? 寻找能源之星认证的产品, which use up to 50 percent less power than their conventional counterparts.
- Opting out of features you don’t really need can save you money twice: If you’re unlikely to set the timer on your coffeemaker, a model without that option will cost less to purchase and save on your electricity bill.
- Entertainment devices are some of the largest consumers of standby power. 当你看完电视, 例如, be sure to turn off not just the TV itself but the peripherals as well (DVD player, 扬声器系统, 机顶盒, 等.). Devices you use infrequently should be plugged into a “smart” power strip so they can all be turned off at once.
- 首页 electronics may also have “power save” modes that can be used to conserve energy when not in use. Check your user’s manual, or poke around in the device settings to see if that feature is enabled.
关键外卖:
- Energy vampires can account for as much as 20 percent of your electric bill.
- 首页 entertainment devices consume most of the phantom power in your home. A “smart” power strip makes it easy to turn your entire system on and off to save money when it’s not in use.
- NHSaves.com和MassSave.com can both offer online catalogs featuring energy-saving solutions for your home or business, from “smart” advanced power strips and LED light bulbs to rebates and incentives for ENERGY STAR® certified devices such as programmable thermostats.
- Devices with large plugs or bricks, such as laptop computers, consume electricity in standby mode. 如果插头摸起来是热的, that’s a sign that electricity is being wasted in the conversion to heat energy.
