Greg and I leave our router on 24/7. But, we work all day and sleep all night so there’s only a few hours when we are actually using the internet in our home. Our router (and that other mystery box that accompanies it) use 0.75A combined continuously. This means that every day I unplug the router (and mystery box), I will save 3.2 pounds of CO2.
It is more difficult to calculate how much I’ll save by turning off The TV (and a few other things plugged into the same power strip) because I don’t leave those things “on” when I’m out of the house. But, even though they’re “off” they still use vampire power. This means that they still draw a small amount of power even when I’ve turned them “off”. This website has a good article about vampire power. Also, it’s estimated that 5% of energy consumed in the US is vampire power. Well I won’t be unplugging everything, these changes will still help me reduce my environmental footprint.
Pearls of Green Wisdom 
who knew vampire power could be a real thing?
I understand that electronics with chargers and time displays use energy all the time, but I wonder if your average lamp uses energy too when it’s off.
From my mild amount of internet research, I don’t think that a lamp uses vampire power. The websites referenced things with a clock, electronics, chargers, and microwaves. But, I definitely wouldn’t quote myself on this because I am not an expert.
Hey there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my facebook group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Many thanks|
Sure, I don’t mind if you share my blog. Thank you for asking.
Hey Michelle,
Took me a second to find the appropriate week for this, since I knew you did it at some point.
We bought this from Amazon to plug our TV/cablebox/router/modem into, and are trying to flip it off while we are at work. We can keep the switch by the door to make it easier than having to turn it off on the power strip behind our TV.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P2UMNK/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog and make this suggestion. I LOVE the fact that it has a remote because then we can turn the internet on as soon as we walk in or right before we go to bed. And now that you have already tested it out, I know which brand to get. Thanks 🙂