Seen at Treehugger:
[T]he Department of Energy estimates that in the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Add that all up, and it equals the annual output of 17 power plants, the government says.
Dang!
I’ll admit that I was already surprised by the impact on my home’s electric bill when I last went on a kick of “retiring” (or at least unplugging) gadgetry that we don’t regularly use, and when my wife and I transitioned over to using laptops rather than desktops. However, if the DoE numbers are correct, perhaps some pressure needs to be applied to manufacturers to cut the phantom loads.