A large number of electrical products draw power (phantom load) as long as they are plugged in. They have to be unplugged in order to draw no power — or plugged into a “smart strip” type powerstrip (like these smartstrips at Choose Renewables) that turns itself off when it senses the product is not in use .
Wondering about how much energy your various appliances and electronics use when on, off, or on standby? Here’s a useful website from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. You may be surprised. Here are two tables:
- This chart showsminimum, average, and maximum standby power use of residential appliances
- This table shows the data that chart is based on (I’m cringing at the number for the microwave!)
Think of It As An Adventure 
heh – That’s Florida, not FloridaY!
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Wow; the chart is really eye-opening!
I just found your blog today; thanks for keeping it. I used to live in Longfellow, but have lived in Floriday for the past 7 1/2 years. Missing family & friends & likeminded community, however, we will be putting our house on the market hopefully at the end of this month with our ulitmate destination of getting back to the Twin Cities. I have been involved in the Transition Sarasota group here a bit over the past year and was wondering and hoping and assuming that there would be activity happening in the cities. I was so pleased to find the Transition Twin Cities site and then your blog. I know these things will keep me encouraged as we face what I consider a somewhat Hurculean effort of getting back home.
I shared your “How do We Get and Stay Motivated” post on my Facebook page. Nicely written; I loved it! I share your motivators of my family and my Christian faith. Thanks for your thoughtful ideas. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Nicole.
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