Managing Phantom Power – A Cost-Effective Energy Management Strategy at Home

Right now, it’s far too cold to get going on any home renovation projects, but there is something you can do that will bring down your electricity costs without embarking on a big retrofit project. The name is scary, but the task is quite easy – eliminate phantom power. Phantom power is electricity that is used by an appliance or electronic device when the equipment is either in standby mode or turned off entirely. You might feel a little bit robbed when you hear that, considering that you probably make sure to turn off the television, computer, and everything else in your home when you go to bed for the night.Fortunately, eliminating standby power is actually quite easy – and all you need to invest in is a couple of power bars that have on/off switches, commonly referred to as kill switches. You’ll also have to be sure to commit to turning off the power bars that the out-of-use appliances are plugged in to, in order to fully reap the energy-saving benefits. It’s estimated that phantom power contributes about 10% of a family’s annual electricity bill – if you eliminate the vast majority of that, you’re basically looking at a free month of electricity each year – definitely worth considering.Below is some advice on which devices to plug into the same power bar in your living room, home office, and kitchen. In the bathrooms and bedrooms, we recommend simply unplugging any devices that are out of use to avoid purchasing another power bar. When you’re heading out of the house for any reason, or when you’re going to bed for the night, make sure the power bars that supply these devices are set to off. If you’ve already experimented with managing phantom power, share your progress with us on social media!