TreeHuggerTV: Vampire Power
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK 
on 10.31.06
Boo! Happy Halloween from TreeHuggerTV. Ooooooh we've got a scary one for you this week! Come into the darkness with us and be afraid, very afraid, of the hidden powers lurking in your home. What kind of ghostly ghouls creep around your home at night? The phantom power currents may not be visible, but it's sure that they are slowly sucking the energy out of your home as you sleep soundly in your bed. Electrical appliances left on standby and plugged in power adaptors constantly use electricity. This draining of power contributes to the ecological impact your home has on the planet. Turn off appliances when not in use and use switches and power strips to fight these fiends. Drive a stake though the heart of Vampire Power this Halloween.
If you think you are brave enough to be a Vampire Power Slayer, but want to find out how to start the fight you can wade into the TreeHugger archives to begin your training. First things first, remember to unplug your cell phone charger. Watch Energy Star's podcasts on consumer electronics. Look out for Wattstoppers and Smart Power Strips. Read about the UK's proposal to ban standby switches on Electronics. And finally if you get a chance pop by the MTV store in NYC to see their exhibit 'Everyday Green' to learn more about phantom power this Halloween.
We hope you are all enjoying the easy access THTV screens at the top of every TreeHugger page. Just so everyone can choose their favourite format here are a number of other ways you can watch THTV: Subscribe to our weekly podcast from iTunes, so that you receive a new episode every week without any effort at all! You can also use the TreeHugger XML feed to subscribe. Or you can visit BlipTV, You Tube and Google Video. Last, but definitely not least, iTunes and Quicktime users, here are your links: iTunes MOV – Don’t forget to check it out!
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wonderful take on "phantom" power. I especially like how they showed statistics of how much phantom power drains when not even in use.
perhaps...my ipod can be called an ivampire!
What is the intermediate outlet plug with switch that was shown in the video?
Best episode evaaaaaahh!!! I love it
One thing to remember though is don't unplug your CRT TV/computer monitor. The standby power does more than just let them wake up quickly, it keeps the tube filament warmed up which prolongs its life, unless of course your wanting to replace your CRT with an LCD so you want it to wear out faster :)
I've been switching to low voltage stuff, using vehicle cell chargers in the house instead of the 12v chargers then running those 12v devices hooked to the battery on an old UPS. So for now I have replaced a bunch of small transformers with one big one, but plan to get a small solar setup to replace the one big transformer.
Between that and some CF bulbs and other minor things my overal electricity use has went down over the last few years, even with the rise in prices my total bill is still going down.
Best episode ever! Awesome!!
Yes, I too would like to find more info about that outlet plug with a switch.