We all have them.. A large clumping of wires headed for a power strip which then conveniently uses one plug so that we can use 8 devices at once. Some even have two plugged into a single outlet or worse yet, daisy chained with 10s of electronics attached.

I am not here to judge your energy use though. I just want to give a little tip. Unless you have something plugged in that needs to be on all the time, you can just flip the switch when you leave and kill all the vampire loads. Have some items like a DVR, clock or computer that needs to stay plugged in, then you can have two power strips, one goes off the other stays on.

Its cheaper than the whole house switch alternative, and can have the same effect. You just have to keep up with the process. Eventually it will become second nature.

I like the idea and will pass it on whenever I can. I have convinced a few homeowners to go with the whole house switch but its not an easy a sell as I was hoping. As with anything like this its less about the technology and more about the change in behavior. You can give someone the ability to save so much energy through technology but unless they take an active role in the process it usually fails.

btb, you are absolutely correct. For any home energy strategy to work it takes both the appropriate technology and the alteration of behaviors. I also recognize that most people are willing to throw money at the problem and less likely to change old habits.

I tried this for a month and it wasn't until about day 20 that I began to remember to do it most of the time. Its really hard to change routines and patterns. I suppose when you are dedicated to doing it, its pretty easy, but I can see that a casual "greenie" might not follow through.