By TMPromotionsJuly 28, 2017
Okay, maybe not. But higher bills can sneak up on you, so below are some tips on identifying, and neutralizing, your energy vampires.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration:
So, good news is that more of our energy is coming from renewable sources. Not-so-great news, the average U.S. citizen uses a LOT more energy than do people in the rest of the world. To do our part to counter that, we can start by looking for several large and small ways to use less energy in our homes.
The biggest bill busters are HVAC, water heaters, lighting and washer/dryer. Things like smart thermometers, shorter not-quite-so-hot showers, LED bulbs and washing in cold water can help with those.
However, the real vampires here are what we need to curtail, because approximately 75% of the electricity used in most American homes happens while the product is not being used.
The top energy vampires in your home are:
Look at that list, and how many of those things in your house stay plugged in 24/7. Experts calculate that, with all the appliances and electronics that are plugged in and not in use, the average household adds an extra 10 percent to their monthly utility bill.
While it takes a stake in the heart to get rid of real vampires (or so they say), knocking down expensive energy bills is a lot easier than you might think. Below are some tips and tricks to help.
Of course, you cant unplug everything every day. Your cable box is most likely used every day, morning and night, and if youre like the typical household, your wireless router is in constant use. That DVR you rarely use, however, could be unplugged, as well as that guest room TV. A quick look around the house with a discerning eye will probably turn up several other opportunities to cut back.
Plug several devices into one power strip, then turn them all off and on with a simple flip of one switch. If youre going on vacation, or even just away for the weekend, toggle those strips off and the vampires melt away. There are even advanced power strips that prevent whats plugged into them from drawing power when off or not being used.These would be a great investment in a home office. Plug in the computer, the printer, the fax machine (if you still have one). Then when you power down, your electronics arent still fired up and using energy.
But after youre through blow drying and flat-ironing, unplug those gadgets before leaving the bathroom.
Ask them about the newer, much more efficient cable boxes that the industry has developed that can save you from one of the biggest vampires in your house your old set-top cable box.
Look around your kitchen. While it doesnt make sense to unplug your oven or disconnect your dishwasher, you can find plenty of other electronics and devices that once the plug is pulled can help save you money. Coffee makers, smoothie blenders, big, fat bagel toasters, hot pots and more. Or put some of those along with your energy-sucking microwave on a power strip. When breakfast is over, flip the switch and save the money.
If you dont have Energy Star appliances yet, think about switching soon. They use less when plugged in and not in use heck, they use less energy, period.
Yes, these sound like small things, but take a walk around your house and youll likely notice how many small things you have that could be adding big bucks to your annual energy bill.
After you tour your home and unplug the appliances that you use less frequently, it may be time for you to consider switching to an electricity plan will more hours of free electricity! Yes, you read that right Direct Energy offers Free Power Weekends to all Texas customers. This plan does exactly what it says, you wont be charged for the electricity supply you use from Friday at 6pm to 11:59pm on Sunday. Thats more than 100 days of free electricity, making it the energy plan with the most FREE weekend hours in Texas*! With Direct Energys Free Power Weekends plan, customers who have high energy usage activities have the greatest potential to see real savings if they simply shift their activity to the weekend.
To find even more savings, use this calculatorfrom energy.gov to estimate how much energy it takes to power your electronics and appliances throughout the year.
View original post here:
How To Tame Your Home's Energy Vampires - Texas Monthly
- Woman's blood-drained corpse is found in Italian church where she had been searching for ghosts: Victim, 22, - Daily Mail - April 12th, 2024
- My latest Game Pass obsession is a vampire-punching action game that could be Red Dead Redemption 2's wacky ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Lindy Ryan on Setting a Vampire Novel in a Small Texas Town - CrimeReads - April 12th, 2024
- 14 Actors Who Appeared In Both Supernatural & The Vampire Diaries - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Coachella 2024: How to Stream Every Performance on YouTube - Vulture - April 12th, 2024
- Back to the 80s: 'Lost boys' The State Hornet - StateHornet.com - April 12th, 2024
- Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other Triple-i games - Ars Technica - April 12th, 2024
- How Vampire Weekend Mastered The Five-Albums Test - UPROXX - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Directors Tease A Fresh Spin On Vampires That's "Very Much Us" - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Livestreamed Their Solar Eclipse Album Release Show: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Fan favorite vampire films among those coming to a theater near you - WAPT Jackson - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Reckon With the Divine (Again) on Only God Was Above Us - Spin - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend have grown into their boat shoes - The Washington Post - April 12th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2: Release date, cast, and more - Android Authority - April 12th, 2024
- Upcoming horror movie Nosferatu debuted a trailer behind closed doors, and apparently Bill Skarsgrd's vampire is ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us': All 10 Tracks Ranked - Billboard - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Has Screened, And Critics Are Calling The Bloody Vampire Horror One Of The Best Movies Of 2024 - CinemaBlend - April 12th, 2024
- When Kirsten Dunst revealed the special gift Interview With a Vampire co-star Tom Cruise sends her every year - Hindustan Times - April 12th, 2024
- He is cooking with this cast: Ryan Coogler's Vampire Movie With Michael B. Jordan Casts Another Marvel Star Hailee ... - FandomWire - April 12th, 2024
- Ryan Cooglers Untitled Vampire Thriller Adds 2 More to Cast - ComingSoon.net - April 12th, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Improved After This Character Left the Show - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Paul Wesley Shares Only Way He'd Appear in Another Vampire Diaries Show - E! Online - E! NEWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Releases New Season 2 Trailer Ahead of May Premiere Watch - Yahoo Finance UK - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 drops second trailer at AMC - Sportskeeda - April 2nd, 2024
- A Major 'Twilight' Star Is Down To Return For The TV Show, So Bring On The Sparkly Vampires - Yahoo! Voices - April 2nd, 2024
- 'Vampire' neutron star blasts are related to jets traveling at near-light speeds - Space.com - April 2nd, 2024
- Louis Is Haunted by the Past in New 'Interview with the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- A Vampire's Face Has Reemerged From a Centuries-Old Shroud - AOL - April 2nd, 2024
- Video: AMC Networks Releases a Second New Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "Anne Rice's Interview with the ... - The Futon Critic - April 2nd, 2024
- Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Presents a Rather Different Kind of Teen Angst - Reactor - April 2nd, 2024
- Shiki And 7 Other Vampire-Themed Anime Series For A Blood Curdling Binge-Watch - AugustMan Thailand - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer: Memories of Claudia - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Harvey Guilln Says Goodbye to the Mansion in 'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6 Set Image - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer Set for Sunday Night - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Vampire Weekend share new single 'Mary Boone' and announce UK and European tour - NME - April 2nd, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Cast: Where are they now? From Ian Somerhalder to Nina Dobrev - 9Entertainment - April 2nd, 2024
- Zendaya Starring in Remake of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? - Snopes.com - April 2nd, 2024
- The Best Vampire Movie Never Says The Word 'Vampire', Stream This Dark R-Rated Horror Hidden Gem - Giant Freakin Robot - April 2nd, 2024
- V Rising gets the crossover every self-respecting vampire wants: Castlevania's Simon Belmont is coming to try and kill ... - PC Gamer - April 2nd, 2024
- Canadian imperialism and the Gaza genocide: The contrived, right-wing furor over a cartoon depicting Netanyahu as a ... - WSWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Is This a Real Photo of Vampire Queen 'Madam Violet,' Voted UK's Scariest Woman Alive in the 1880s? - Snopes.com - March 16th, 2024
- The erotic 70s horror where lechy men turn into bloody-hungry vampires - Dazed - March 16th, 2024
- The vampires ball is coming to an end - Meduza - March 16th, 2024
- Oregon son, 56, who is accused of killing his mom by shoving a huge makeshift stake through her throat claims - Daily Mail - March 16th, 2024
- Muni Bond Games and the IRS' Lurking Arbitrage Vampires - Governing - March 16th, 2024
- Ball of vampires', nuke warning: Key takeaways from Putins interview - The Times of India - March 16th, 2024
- Putin compares western elites to 'VAMPIRES' who 'fill their bellies with human flesh' - GB News - March 16th, 2024
- Every Time Alaric Died In The Vampire Diaries & Legacies - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- V Rising declares a 1.0 release date, climbing from the grave of a years-long early access to become your next time ... - Yahoo Movies UK - March 16th, 2024
- 15 Actors That Could Play Edward Cullen in the Twilight TV Series - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- BLOOD HUNT #1 Preview Releases A Horde Of Vampires On The Marvel Universe's Greatest Heroes - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 16th, 2024
- Man accused of killing mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - Yahoo News - March 16th, 2024
- Stephen King approved 'Salem's Lot' movie to stream on Max this year - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 16th, 2024
- Empire of the Damned Review: A Wickedly Good Time | Arts - Harvard Crimson - March 8th, 2024
- The BLOODCOVEN: Marvel's Vampires Get Their Own Avengers With 6 "Supervampires Fed on the Blood of ... - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 17 fantasy and science fiction books to read in March 2024 - Winter is Coming - March 8th, 2024
- This MCU Hero Returns to Fight Vampires as Marvel's Massive BLOOD HUNT Begins - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- These Vampons by 'Artisan Vampires' Will Make Your Period Goth AF - Loudwire - February 28th, 2024
- Bloodsuckers Through the Ages - A History of Vampires (Video) - Ancient Origins - February 28th, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' #2 Cover Shows the Avengers Are Bloody, Battered, and Broken - Marvel.com - February 28th, 2024
- Vampires Invade the Marvel Universe in New Blood Hunt Trailer - Superherohype.com - February 28th, 2024
- 'Near Dark' Is the Acid-Soaked Vampire Western You Need to See - IMDb - February 19th, 2024
- In The Sci-Fi World I Created, Vampires And Werewolves Are Still A Huge Problem (20 New Pics) - Bored Panda - February 19th, 2024
- Kathryn Bigelow's 'Near Dark' Is the Acid-Soaked Vampire Western You Need to See - Collider - February 19th, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire review Tom Cruise and Brad Pitts brilliant bloodsucking bromance - The Guardian - February 19th, 2024
- Is This Too Niche: Vampires - The Post - The Post - February 19th, 2024
- ALEX VAN HELSING Novel Trilogy Being Adapted as a TV Series By Kit Williamson GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - February 19th, 2024
- The Supernatural Romance Of Vampire: The Masquerade Blood-Stained Love - Forbes - February 19th, 2024
- Leaving the shadows for passion: Why vampires are classic monsters that best reflect our fears and desires - EL PAS USA - February 19th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend to Embark on 2024 Tour, Releases Two New Singles - Variety - February 19th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend adds second Austin show to 2024 tour - Laredo Morning Times - February 19th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's summer 2024 tour will stop in Minneapolis - Bring Me The News - February 19th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Announce Massive Tour in Support of New Album Only God Was Above Us - Rolling Stone - February 19th, 2024
- Harry Potter: Are There Vampires in the Wizarding World? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 19th, 2024
- The Midnight Sons return, Black Panther becomes a vampire, and much more in Marvel's Blood Hunt tie-ins - Gamesradar - February 19th, 2024
- Morbius is The Secret To Saving Marvel's Entire Universe (Yes, Seriously) - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- Geometry Survivor is a little Geometry Wars and a bit Vampire Survivors - GamingOnLinux - February 19th, 2024
- The War with Angels Is On! SYFY's Reginald the Vampire Officially Returns for Season 2 in May - Yahoo Entertainment - February 19th, 2024
- BLOOD HUNT: Marvel Comics Reveals T'Challa/Black Panther Will Be Transformed Into A Vampire This May - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - February 19th, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire season 2 teaser reveals May 12 release date - Winter is Coming - February 11th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero