This article today made me look into how wasteful we have been at home. I had heard about energy vampires but had never looked into how much the ones I have in my house were costing me. I found a very neat worksheet to figure this out. Here’s my tally:
Answering machine= 1 * $2.57
Microwave oven= 1 * $2.48
Cable Box = 1 * $9.25
Stereo system = 1 * $8.31
TV = 2 * $4.28
VCR = 1 * $6.85
DVD = 1 * $3.6
Cordless phone = 3 * $2.23
Radio = 3 * $1.46
Computer = 2 * $1.46
Printer = 1 * $4.28
Internet Terminal = 1 * $9.08
Battery charger = 1 * $0.77
Garage Door Opener = 2 * $2.57
For a total drained down the toilet of = $68.03
We have not been disciplined about turning off our computers when we go to bed, just doing that should save us $16.28 plus any additional savings from making sure we unplug the cell phone and toothbrush chargers when we are done with them.
Other energy drainers that were not on this worksheet but we have are: cell phone chargers, electric toothbrush charger and coffee maker. So even if $68.03 seems like peanuts in the grand scheme of things, every little bit I save is money left on my pocket not the energy company’s and I am being less wasteful.
