A shocking amount of energy is consumed by a home, or building, when it ‘sleeps’. Occupants often erroneously believe that electricity consumption stops when the lights go out. In fact, most electronic devices and appliances continue to draw small amounts of power, even when they are turned off. Some are easy to spot with their little red lights (printers, coffee makers, toasters, stereos, computers, powerbars) signalling the continuous draw of energy required to keep the devices and appliances in their idle or powered down states. These phantom plug loads can really add up.
We have a solution: install a ‘kill switch’ at the front or back door, which shuts down power to most outlets in the house, eliminating those phantom plug loads. You don’t want to accidentally shut down outlets where you need constant power, say for your alarm clock or to record TV programs on your DVR. Simply identify where you think you will need ‘non-killable outlets’ in the house in the design stage, and then when they are installed identify them with a different coloured face plate or outlet, or with a simple label maker. Only plug items into these outlets that require electricity when you are out or asleep, and you can feel great hit that ‘kill switch’ and stop the phantom loads dead in their tracks.
