Vampire Appliances Could Be Draining Your Wallet
Press release from PG&E:
Vampire appliances have a voracious appetite for sucking energy out of electrical outlets and money out of your wallet, even when they are turned off. These appliances and devices still use energy while powered down and they are potentially all over your home.
While these devices may have sleep or standby modes, they can still continuously use electricity to perform updates, connect to remote servers, and record data.
The connectivity of modern devices is one reason why wasted energy and money from idle gadgets has increased in recent years. The associated energy draw may account for more than 10% of home energy use. Home electronics like televisions, cable boxes, modems, video game consoles, and even DVD players are typically the largest energy vampires.
Other common vampires include any device that’s programmable or has a remote control, light, or clock.
Ways to Stop Vampire Appliances
- Use Energy Star certified appliances. Energy Star appliances are more efficient than their counterparts. While you may pay more up-front, the savings in energy costs over the life of the product often makes up the difference.
- Plug into power strips. It’s unrealistic to unplug each device after use. Power strips are easily accessible and can shut off power to a variety of devices at the same time.
- Unplug when charged. When devices like cell phones and tablets are charged, unplug the chargers.
- Let the Computer Sleep. Adjust your computer setting to go to sleep after 30 minutes or less. Disable screensavers and set the monitor to turn off after 10-15 minutes.
- Utilize PG&E’s Home Energy Checkup. This online tool allows you to share basic data then provides customized energy savings recommendations tailed to your specific household.
Tap into the Halloween spirit by spooking energy vampires into giving your utility bill a treat! For even more ways to reduce energy use, check out our energy-saving tips.
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a vampire electric company draining our wallets
You’re so unhappy with your energy company you can generate your own electricity and stfu.
Talk about miss the point!! If you’re unhappy with your power company you should have the ability to switch to another. You know just like Texas where the average cost is 12 cents a Kwh. It’s called competition Zippy, and what we have here is corporate/state collusion.
I don’t think Texas is a model for how to run an energy grid: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis
Texas power crisis———————natural event.
California power crisis—————-Collusion and political corruption.
That’s the myopia thinking of a dimwitted corporate (exploitive).
I can’t remember if we are aloud to write “bitch”in the comments. Sorry.
Don’t matter if the power is out. Like it is here in Ridgewood for the last three hours!
7:15, I can see a little of light in the sky. Sooon I will be able to find my glasses.
Back on at 7:14, back off at 7:14:02. ?
Fuck you PG&E you know what’s draining our wallets you are assholes all of you!
3 years ago my electricity was 18 cents a kilowatt hour in 2019 and now in 2022 November it’s 36 fucking cents a kilowatt hour!
YOU ARE THE VAMPIRE PG&E!
YOU!
LOOK INWARD!
Corporate narcissism!
Move.
Is that what you think early American colonists should have done instead of fighting the revolutionary war?
What a cowardly defeatist attitude. Disgusting.
Lewiston ca energy rates are between .05 cents and .07 cents per kilowatt hour without a tier system and due to go down next year. Homes start at $100k. Best deal in California
Don’t forget to factor in lawsuits, clearing under power lines, subsidizing low income customers, etc. And last but not least … the catch 22 of saving energy. “Thank you for reducing your energy consumption, but we need to have the same amount of money coming in so we have to reward you with higher rates.” As others have suggested, you can make your own …
The cost of lawsuits should come from their profit, not be passed on to rate payers. Clearing under power lines is part of doing business. They do not need to maintain the same amount of profit.
Almost every single day I receive an email from PG&E telling me how I can save money on my electric bill; PLUS almost every single day there’s a “public interest” article in the local paper (Lake County) saying the same. Also, PG&E generously recently donated a couple thousand to non-profits that distribute food to needy seniors. Awwww… but we wonder, Could high energy costs play a role in their neediness? Note to PG&E — how about saving your customers’ money by spending less of your budget on public relations and a lot more on providing safe, efficient service at lower cost?
blame the state of california, and their ridiculous fuel, tax, and energy mandates/policies for 90% of the cost of electricity. if somebody out there thinks they can do better for cheaper, i’m in.
There are other culprits. Think of the devices that have expanded sensor convenience to everything from toasters to coffee makers. Refrigerators with video doors. Motion sensors. Blue tooth home alarm systems. Remote controls. Charging cell phones. Voice activated thermostats, door locks, blinds, etc. All the devices use a constant stream of electricity. It may be a small amount for each device but there are so many of them. And they can not be selected turned off. If it can be automated, it can be sold as a feature. Even those who want to turn off some, find it is necessary to turn off every or nothing. No selectivity.
I have gone to not only using power strips but power strips with individually switched outlets. And even that maintains at least one outlet always powered. It’s a conspiracy! Of course I’m pretty short tempered at the moment after the annual i-like-my-house-cold smoke detector battery fiasco where every battery back up triggers low battery warning beeps starting at about 2 am, only to be resolved by removing the battery- not safe- or heating the house-not wanted.
Dems’ War on Fossil Fuels drives all energy prices higher, including PG&E gas & electricity.
Joe Biden did that!
One week until the referendum on Joe Biden Regime’s policies.
Everybody should read the ‘recent’ (1980 or so) history of PG&E. In the
old days’ they were a going concern, had money, spent maintenance money on the their power plants and lines, and working for PG&E was a great job.
Then, some folks wanted the MONEY (kinda like ENRON, PALCO).
They split PG&E, one group ran off with the money… and left what is now PG&E with the business of maintaining the lines. Also wrote inflexible pricing structure to the delivery end of the electric grid so that PG&E went bankrupt. (Several times I think.)
And then came the forest fires. That leaves PG&E as a perpetually bankrupt company, and one that we need to deliver the power. There is no good way out.
We used to call these, “Phantom Loads”, FYI.
Living off the grid, you quickly realize how much energy is wasted by the average household. Off grid, you are counting every watt.
We are living in the aftermath of the cheap energy era. Like the pot biz, it ain’t coming back.