Smart Power Strip | Great Ways To Conserve Electricity at Home

Today's topic is about tackling a problem that we all share, how to save electricity related to appliances that continue to consume electricity even when turned off or in the standby state. The term commonly used to describe this is phantom or vampire electricity usage. Using a smart power strip is just one of the many ways to conserve electricity in the house. Doing so will put a stop to this energy waste and allow you to save money on electricity.

Many home electronic appliances keep on consuming small amounts of electricity even when they are no longer in use (off or standby state). If your house is like mine, the number of appliances in this category is growing at a very rapid pace.

Here are some examples of appliances, do keep in mind the list is only partial:

Televisions
TV Set-top devices
DVD / VCR Player / DVRecorder
Computers (Desktop, Laptop, Monitors)
Printers / Scanners
Game consoles
Receiver /Stereo
Satellite Receiver
TIVO
Microwave
Fax machine
Other Home office equipment (telephone, fax)
Telephone chargers (cell, portable)

As startling as it may be, it is estimated that 75% of electricity costs associated for home electronic appliances is when they are turned off! In relative terms, this could mean somewhere between 5-10% of your electricity bills is being wasted due to this standby electricity consumption.

Everyone's situation is a little different but I can ensure you we are all paying for this standby electricity use in one way or another. All you have to do is start looking around a bit, however if not careful you can be fooled or miss out. I think you get the feeling for what this means and how you can start to scale back on your electricity bill….

So what do you do about it? It’s very simple, start conserving electricity in the house by just unplugging appliances when they are not in use.

In reality, it’s more complex since you can't spend your day going around unplugging everything.

When I can't unplug, my preferred solution is to install a smart power strip. They are what I refer to as a smart way to conserve electricity, more energy efficient in terms of approach. These are helpful for multiple appliances and perfect for computers (desktops or laptops), and also apply for associated equipment. This seems to be the best answer until product manufacturers improve their product designs and incorporate permanent solutions to consume less energy by curbing standby electricity usage.

Do smart power strips help with the electric bill (save money)? Yes, it will help you by reducing electricity used or wasted which should allow you to save money on electricity.

Here’s a quick video to help explain how a smart power strip works, why it’s beneficial to you and how you go about using it to reduce the phantom electricity usage showing up in your electricity bills and save on electricity.

Smart Power Strip Video

If you want to start conserving electricity in the house, you should be using these where appropriate.

However, not all smart power strips are alike (intelligent) and do the thinking for you. You will want to consider two points before choosing an energy saving smart power strip.

You want to look first for auto-switching smart power strips. This feature implies there are outlets whereby the electricity is always on and others outlets which are automatically turned off when you have switched off what is called the control device (main appliance). This simple technique allows you to save money on electricity costs.

The second point to consider is the total number of appliances that will be used on the smart power strip. This gives you the number of outlets (always-on, those switched off automatically) that you will need.

Not only do these smart power strip devices help you in saving electricity in the house, they also have built-in surge protectors and noise reduction for your appliances. This can also be helpful for your appliances over the long term, in addition to the cost savings by using smart power strips.

Just how much energy or electricity do you save with smart power strips?

It will vary with the appliances used, based on the amount of standby electricity being consumed. This is why I suggest determining where it makes sense to install a smart power strip as a first step. If you discover phantom or vampire energy, this will be one of the best ways to save electricity costs in a home.

How to conserve electricity with smart power strips?

The recommended approach is to use a Kill A Watt meter which enables you to measure and put a cost on the current usage, the phantom or vampire electricity costs being wasted and if a smart power strip makes sense. Most importantly, you will also be able to see if you were successful in reducing energy costs once the smart power strip was installed (tangible effects).



It’s important to note that Kill A Watt meters can also be used to evaluate electricity costs of other appliances. This little device will therefore continue to help you discover how to conserve electricity at home. One concrete example is using a Kill A Watt meter to determine if it makes sense to replace older appliances with more energy efficient newer models (Energy Star) as a means to further reduce energy costs.

To help you get started with today's topic, I have included some products and considerations covering where you may apply them in your home. All of the energy saving smart power strip products listed below are highly rated, auto-switching and will help you to consume less energy in your home. I invite you to take a look at what makes sense for your needs and take the time to read some of the very positive reviews.



I hope you have found this energy saving tips on how to save electricity useful for your journey to start conserving electricity at home (and save money on electricity bills as well). Eliminating the phantom or vampire energy waste taking place is one of the more easy ways to conserve electricity at home. So start using a smart power strip to reduce your energy costs...