Technically, the most direct way to save energy with electrical appliances is, well, to turn it off. Lights in empty rooms. Exterior security lights. Computers. Monitors. Televisions. Stereos. Cable boxes. Charging pads.
Except. Even when you turn it off, that electronic device is probably still drawing power. That TV that comes right on as soon as you power it up with the remote? Wow – no more waiting 90 seconds for a live screen. That only happens because the TV is in standby mode all the time, sucking up enough energy to keep it only 5 seconds from full-on.
Almost every electronic gizmo draws power when it’s plugged in, even when it’s turned off. The only way to turn it OFF for real is to plug it into a power strip. Except. Power strips suck a little electric current all the time, too.
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Excerpted from Going Green, available as an eBook at this list of eBook retailers online.