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Best Buy has declared October 30th National Vampire Awareness Day - and not because of fanged blood-suckers...

A trip to Transylvania may seem like a walk in the park when compared to the hidden vampires lurking in homes across the country.  Best Buy  announced today that it will help innocent victims put an end to this vampire reign of terror by declaring October 30, 2008, National Vampire Awareness Day. 

Vampire Power is the electricity that consumer electronics and appliances use while they are switched off or in a standby mode. This insidious phenomenon is responsible for wasting an estimated $4 billion in the U.S. annually and the Department of Energy notes that this figure could rise by 20 percent by 2010.  Forty percent of all electricity used to power electronics and appliances in the average American home is consumed while they are turned off and the government has estimated that “vampire power” consumes enough energy to equal to the output of 17 power plants.

To help ward of these vampires, Best Buy is launching a nationwide campaign to educate Americans about the worst offenders of vampire power.  The most dangerous “vampires” are sometimes the most unassuming and include everything from plasma TVs, computers, and game consoles to DVRs and adapters for MP3 players and cell phones.  These seemingly innocent electronics and appliances can cost up to $1,000 per household per year in wasted energy.

“Reducing vampire power is a small change that can result in big savings for people who need easy, cost-effective ways to be sustainable in a volatile economy,” said Paula Prahl, senior vice president — communications, public affairs and corporate responsibility.  “Our team of Best Buy Blue Shirt experts will help arm consumers with the information needed to rid their homes of vampires.”

Forget the garlic this Halloween - here are some simple tips from Best Buy to help strip the fangs out of energy sucking home devices:

• Use a power strip:  Plug your chargers into a power strip and when you’re not using those chargers, turn the power strip off.
• Get unplugged: All of your chargers (cell phone, MP3, laptop, and even electric toothbrushes), continue to draw electricity even when the device is not charging. Only 5 percent of the power drawn by a cell phone charger is used to charge the phone - the other 95 percent is wasted when it is left plugged into the wall.
• Turn your computer off:  Computers in sleep mode can cost an additional $70 per year.  By completely shutting down your computer and printer when not in use you will not only save money, you will also help reduce the machine's CO2 emissions 83 percent, to just 63 kg a year.  If you are unable to do so, at least make sure the computer goes into a low-power sleep, standby or hibernate mode.  And watch out for those screen savers; graphic intense screen savers can actually waste power.
• Look for the Star:  The typical U.S. household spends about $1,300 on its home energy bills. Energy Star labeled appliances and heating and cooling equipment can reduce that energy bill by up to 40 percent – a potential savings of hundreds of dollars each year.

For more tips and advice on ridding vampires from your home, visit your local Best Buy store or check out www.vampireawarenessday.com.

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