Halloween is around the corner. De-Spook your home!

Phantom Loads - One of the costs of home ownership!  De-Spook your home of those Phantoms!

Our local electrical co-op, Choctaw Electric Cooperative, had an excellent article in it this month written by John Drake, the cooperative energy auditor. 

Mr. Drake wrote about something that I had never thought about - Phantom Electrical Loads in your home, the energy they use, and how to reduce the cost.

Energy draws that you probably are not aware of are going on 24 hours a day.  He makes the point that these loads individually do not use a lot of energy, but added together, they do.

"The US Department of Energy estimates that 75% of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed while the units are switched off. The easiest offenders to recognize are appliances with digital displays or LED lights that remain on constantly, like a microwave or coffeemaker.  A device with a remote control also uses energy when turned off because it is waiting for a signal to turn it on." 

If you turn all of your lights off, it's easier to find the ones that are phantom loads.  Lok for glowing buttons or LED lights.  To reduce your electricity, he points out that you can unplug the appliances or connect them to a power strip with an on/off switch. 

For people that have vacation homes, the phantom load cost may be more than the cost of electricity usage for operating appliances.  If you seldom use your lake house or other vacation home, you may want to put power strips on those appliances that do not need to remain on all of the time, such a tv, so that you can easily turn them off when you leave; or just unplug them during your extended absences.

Our electric co-op's monthly newsletter is very informative and helpful.  Thank you Choctaw Electric and thank you, John Drake, for the article on Phantom Loads!