The Buddha Vampire

Vampires are real.  In fact your home is likely filled with them.  These are not the kind of vampires that sleep in coffins and swish around in capes.  Most are unaffected by sunlight and garlic.  The vampires I am talking about are “vampire loads” on your electrical system.  These are small users of electrical current that suck juice all day and all night from circuits throughout your home.

Vampire loads are those tiny bits of power consumed by appliances and electronics while the appliances are in standby mode—just sitting there waiting for you to put them to work.  Over recent years, vampire loads have proliferated.

Look around your house.  See that LED glowing on your power strip?  See the blinking lights on your wireless router?  Don’t forget the digital clock and timer on your coffee maker.  Count anything with a remote.  Even the lighted switches you recently installed. 

Vampires.

I read varying estimates on the cost of vampire loads.  They appear to cost the average homeowner at least $100.00 per year.  By the nature of our electronics (and the way we have embraced them) I don’t see us shedding our vampire loads anytime soon.  I even have one load, my Buddha light ball, upon which I purposely waste power. 

I ran the numbers on Buddha.  At a mere 0.125 amperes of steady current flow, he costs me $14.45 in power usage each year.

Thing is, Buddha makes for a cool vampire.

--Mitchell Hegman